Work Schedules

Work hours and schedules vary throughout the university, depending upon the services provided by each area. Supervisors establish and inform staff members of specific work schedules, including normal starting times, break times, meal periods, and ending times. Supervisors have the authority to rearrange work schedules to meet the operating needs of the department. This might include changing the schedule, requiring overtime, or reducing work hours. Supervisors should try to give staff members as much advance notice as possible when work schedules must be changed so that staff members can make personal arrangements to meet the new scheduling requirements. The operating requirements of the department, however, are the primary consideration in establishing work schedules and requiring overtime and, on occasion, advance notice of changes in schedules or the need to work overtime may not be given.

Supervisors of individuals employed in nine-, ten- or eleven-month positions should insure that earned vacation hours are used during the staff member's scheduled work months (see the "Vacation Leave" policy in the Benefits and Services section of this manual). Vacation leave for part-time staff is not intended to extend the number of workdays/workweeks approved budgetarily or to provide monetary compensation in lieu of time off at the conclusion of the nine-, ten- or eleven-month period.

Workweek

The workweek is defined as a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours consisting of seven consecutive 24 hour periods. For staff members whose normal work schedule falls within the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours, Monday through Friday, the workweek begins at 12:01 a.m. on Monday morning and ends at midnight on Sunday. Other workweeks may be designated in accordance with the definition above for staff members whose shifts are other than 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or whose workdays are other than Monday through Friday. The workweek should be clearly communicated to all staff members in non-exempt positions since it is the base period for purposes of computing overtime.

Flexible Scheduling

Flexible scheduling, like the use of non-standard working hours (e.g., 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a half-hour lunch, Monday through Thursday; or 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, combined with a 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a one hour lunch), may be permitted. Variable starting and ending times within limits set by the supervisor may also be permitted. It is the supervisor's responsibility to establish work schedules in such a way as to achieve the optimum in productivity and communication. Staff members may not modify their schedules without supervisory approval.

Staff Members in Non-exempt Positions 
Each staff member who is in a non-exempt position must complete a record of time worked (time clock card, "Exceptions to Regular Hours Worked for Salaried Staff Members in Non-exempt Positions" form, or "Record of Hours Worked for Hourly Staff Members in Non-exempt Positions" form).

In those areas of the university where time clocks are not used, it is important that staff members in non-exempt positions record time actually worked on a daily basis; time worked should not be trusted to memory and then recorded at the end of the reporting period. If an initial recording document (i.e., a departmental form, a staff member's calendar) other than the university's official time worked document is used, both the staff member and the supervisor must make sure that time worked as reported on the initial document is correctly transposed to the official time report. Such a dual system of documentation should be used only when essential from a management standpoint; using the official time reporting form as the only document is the preferred method.

Staff Members in Exempt Positions 
Each staff member who is in an exempt position must complete a "Record of Vacation/Sick Leave for Exempt Staff" form. Staff members in exempt positions are eligible to use accumulated sick and vacation leave according to the "Sick Leave" and "Vacation Leave" policies in the Benefits and Services section of the manual to cover either partial or whole day absences. In those rare instances when a staff member in an exempt position has insufficient sick leave and vacation leave (in the case of absences covered by the sick leave policy) or has insufficient vacation leave (in the case of absences which are not covered by the sick leave policy) available to cover a partial day's absence, the staff member will receive a full day's pay.

Procedures for Reporting Time Worked and Leave Used

For any regularly-scheduled work period during which the staff member has not worked, the explanation for the staff member's absence should be recorded (e.g., vacation leave, sick leave, holiday, bonus day, leave without pay). Staff members submit time worked and/or leave records to their supervisors at the close of the pay period. The supervisor is responsible for reviewing and approving the staff member's time worked and/or leave record. The supervisor forwards the completed time worked and/or leave record on the first working day after the close of the pay period to the Payroll Office. Supervisors should keep copies of time worked and/or leave records for at least two years.

The Staff Senate meets from noon to 1 p.m. because that is a convenient time for the majority of those attending the monthly meetings. In order to provide an alternative lunch period, elected Staff Senators are eligible for one hour of release time each month to participate in meetings of the Staff Senate. So, for example, an elected Staff Senator who normally has lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m. can participate in the Staff Senate meeting and then take one hour of release time to have lunch from 1-2 p.m. The one hour per month of release time for elected Staff Senators to attend noon hour Staff Senate meetings is contingent on the supervisor's approval (based on his or her assessment of the work that needs to be accomplished).

Staff members appointed to serve on university committees or task forces convened at the request of the President are to consider time spent in such meetings as regular work time. If meetings of this type are scheduled outside of a staff member's regular workday, and if the staff member is in a non-exempt position, the supervisor will authorize overtime compensation or adjust the staff member's work schedule for the workweek.

Failure to keep accurate time worked and/or leave records may constitute falsification of university records and may subject a staff member to corrective action, including termination of employment.

Procedures for Reporting Absences

When an unexpected event occurs which prevents a staff member from reporting to work, the staff member must notify the supervisor as soon as possible, but in no case later than thirty (30) minutes after the beginning of the staff member's scheduled shift. This allows time for the supervisor to adjust the department's work assignments for the day and to try to compensate for the staff member's absence. If a staff member has an absence that lasts for more than one day, the staff member should call in each day unless she or he has made alternate arrangements in advance with the supervisor. Some departments may require notification up to several hours in advance of the time the staff member's shift begins due to operational needs.

The staff member (not a relative or friend) should be the one to call in unless the staff member is medically unable to do so. The staff member should speak directly with the supervisor rather than a coworker unless that individual has been officially authorized by the department to accept call-in notices.

Failure to notify the supervisor according to established university and departmental policies may result in corrective action, including termination of employment.

Meal and Rest Periods

Supervisors may stagger meal or rest periods for staff members in the same work unit in order to maintain uninterrupted service.

The meal period is not included as paid work time. Each staff member in a non-exempt position who works full-time should have a scheduled meal period which is not less than thirty (30) minutes nor more than one hour long and which falls approximately mid-way in the staff member's daily work schedule. No staff member in a non-exempt position shall be required to work more than five consecutive hours without a meal period.

Rest periods are included as paid work time and will not exceed fifteen (15) minutes for each four hours of work. Rest periods should be scheduled in the middle of the work period insofar as practical; however, the scheduling of rest periods will depend on the nature of the work and the service requirements of the department. If the nature of the work allows staff members to take intermittent rest periods equivalent to fifteen (15) minutes for each four hours worked, scheduled rest periods are not required. Staff members whose total daily work schedule is less than three hours long are not eligible for rest periods.

The rest period is intended to be a relief from job tasks to be preceded and followed by an extended work period. Consequently, rest periods may not be used to cover a staff member's late arrival or early departure or to extend a lunch period. Rest period time cannot be accumulated to provide for a prolonged time-off period.

Origination Date: 9/1958
Revised: 2001