THE SUPERVISOR’S SURVIVAL GUIDE TO FLSA AND HOW EMPLOYEE RELATIONS CAN HELP WITH THE REALLY FUN STUFF

HOW THIS IMPACTS YOU/YOUR EMPLOYEES THE STRUGGLE IS REAL POSSIBLE CHANGE IN FLEXIBILITY SUPERVISORS MUST MANAGE WORKFLOW MORE EFFICIENTLY WHILE RETAINING EFFECTIVENESS EMPLOYEE MAY FEEL DOWNGRADED ADDITIONAL TASKS TO ACCOMPLISH #BRIGHTSIDING NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES COMPENSATED FOR OT CAN LEAD TO INNOVATIVE IMPROVEMENTS GROWTH OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL INVOLVED BETTER DATA ON JOB REQUIREMENTS/DUTIES ENHANCES EMPLOYEE CONNECTEDNESS TO LEADER

WHAT IS COMPENSABLE? S, CALLS, AND TEXTS OUTSIDE OF STANDARD WORK HOURS APPROVED PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT JOB-RELATED TRAINING (UCO OR OFFSITE), COMMITTEE WORK, SENATE, LECTURES, CAMPUS ASSOCIATIONS TIME SPENT TRAVELING* FOR WORK/PERMITTED WORK RELATED ACTIVITIES WORKING LUNCHES OR COMPLETING WORK DURING LUNCH ANY OVERTIME COMPLETED, WHETHER APPROVED OR NOT

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? SCENARIO ONE: YOUR ONLY NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEE ASKS IF THEY CAN ATTEND A BABY SHOWER IN LEADERSHIP LOUNGE DURING THEIR STANDARD WORKING HOURS. THE CELEBRANT IS A CLOSE WORK FRIEND AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THE OFFICE, INCLUDING YOU, IS GOING. SCENARIO TWO: YOUR EMPLOYEE TEXTS YOU AT 7 AM TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THEY ARE ILL AND WILL NOT MAKE IT IN. THERE IS A MEETING YOU/ANOTHER WILL NEED TO ATTEND IN THEIR ABSENCE. YOU TEXT BACK TO ASK IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU NEED IN PREPARATION FOR THAT MEETING.

WHAT IS NOT* COMPENSABLE? EMPLOYEE WISHES TO ATTEND A NON-WORK RELATED EVENT ON CAMPUS (PARTY, ETC) EMPLOYEE WISHES TO TAKE UCO/OUTSIDE TRAINING COURSE TO INCREASE NON-WORK RELATED SKILLS EMPLOYEE EATS LUNCH AT DESK WITHOUT COMPLETING WORK AND IS BRIEFLY INTERRUPTED EMPLOYEE TAKES A ‘LONG LUNCH’, OUTSIDE OF THE LUNCH BREAK POLICY GUIDELINES EMPLOYEE CALLS OR TEXTS YOU TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE LATE/MISS WORK THAT DAY

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE TIMECARD, REALLY? AS A SUPERVISOR, YOU CAN BE PERSONALLY HELD LIABLE FOR EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS, INCLUDING LEGAL VIOLATIONS, DEPENDING ON HOW A LAW DEFINES THE TERM “EMPLOYER”. THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT DEFINES AN EMPLOYER AS “ANY PERSON ACTING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN THE INTEREST OF AN EMPLOYER IN RELATION TO AN EMPLOYEE”. PERSONAL LIABILITY REFERS TO CIVIL ACTIONS BROUGHT BY A CLAIMANT WHERE ANY MONETARY AWARD RENDERED FOR THE CLAIMANT MAY BE SATISFIED FROM THE PERSONAL ASSETS OF THE DEFENDANT, INCLUDING HOME, BELONGINGS, BANK ACCOUNTS, INVESTMENTS, AND OTHER ASSETS. SUPERVISOR MUST MONITOR AND APPROVE TIMECARDS. REALLY IMPORTANT

WHAT STEPS CAN I TAKE TO AVOID THESE PERSONAL LIABILITIES? KNOW THE LAW FOLLOW COMPANY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES BE AS CONSISTENT AS REASONABLY POSSIBLE APPROPRIATELY COMPENSATE EMPLOYEES FOR TIME WORKED (SUFFER/PERMIT) HOLD EMPLOYEES ACCOUNTABLE FOR TIMELY TIMESHEET ENTRY/APPROVAL MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY OF EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE UTILIZE HUMAN RESOURCES AS A PARTNER

WHAT POLICIES SHOULD I REVISIT? OVERTIME POLICY *RECENTLY UPDATED* OVERTIME MUST BE APPROVED BY DIRECTOR PREFER EMPLOYEE TO REARRANGE WORKWEEK “COMP TIME” EARNED AT 1.5 FOR 40+ HRS WORKED VACATION AND SICK DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS OT CAPPED AT 80 HOURS (SUPERVISOR MANAGES) USED PRIOR TO VACATION TIME ** OVERTIME WAGES REQUIRE PRIOR APPROVAL LUNCH AND OTHER BREAK POLICY FULL TIME EMPLOYEES RECEIVE 1 HOUR PER DAY PART TIME : 30 MINUTES TO 1 HOUR PER DAY ALL LUNCH BREAKS ARE UNPAID TIME CANNOT BE ACCUMULATED UP TO TWO DAILY BREAKS (15 MINUTES MAX)* CANNOT SHORTEN WORKDAY OR WORKWEEK

HOW TO MANAGE COMP TIME ACCRUAL COMP TIME IS NOT INTENDED TO BE SAVED/ACCUMULATED EMPLOYEES WHO DO NOT TAKE TIME OFF ARE MORE PRONE TO BURNOUT AND/OR COVER-UPS SUPERVISORS MUST ALLOW THE USE OF COMP TIME UNLESS IT WOULD CREATE AN UNDUE HARDSHIP FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT SUPERVISORS SHOULD ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES TO TAKE COMP & VACATION TIME SUPERVISORS MAY NEED TO REQUIRE EMPLOYEES TO TAKE COMP TIME & VACATION TIME IF YOU HIRE AN EMPLOYEE TRANSFERRING FROM ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, YOU ASSUME THE FINANCIAL LIABILITY OF THE EMPLOYEE’S COMP AND VACATION TIME BALANCE

WHAT ARE MY NEXT STEPS? START BY HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH IMPACTED EMPLOYEES: WHAT “EXTRAS” DO THEY DO? WHICH ARE A PRIORITY FOR THEM? WHAT WILL BE YOUR NEW NORMAL? HOW WILL YOU PARTNER FOR SUCCESS DURING THIS TRANSITION?

DON’T FORGET – WE ARE HERE TO HELP! CARRIE IRWIN, DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS EXTENSION 2327 ERIKA CERDA, EMPLOYEE RELATIONS SPECIALIST EXTENSION 2932