FLSA Recommendations
What Is The New FLSA Overtime Rule? The rule extends overtime protections to 4.2 million workers who are not currently eligible under federal law. Workers who earn as much as $47,476 a year ($913 a week) will have to be paid overtime, even if they're classified as a manager or professional. The Department of Labor will increase the salary threshold every three years. Based on current projections, the salary threshold is expected to rise to more than $51,000 with its first update on January 1, 2020. Employers must comply with the new regulations by December 1, 2016.
Separation of benefits/payments Salaried Full Time staff At NWSRA, full time staff are salaried and will earn the same salary regardless of time earned/used Vacation, Sick, Personal Days These are benefits. Vacation is paid out at end of employment if unused. Personal is not paid. Unused sick time is IMRF retirement credit. Approved Overtime/Approved Comp Time 40 hour work week. Any approved hours above, for non-exempt staff, qualify for OT/Comp Time. Anything below 40 hours must use Comp Time.
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Exempt employees: Non-exempt employees: Based on job duties and salary threshold of $47,476 Until the law change occurred, all programming staff were classified as exempt based on job duties Upon passage of the new FLSA law, programming staff whose salary does not meet the threshold are now considered non-exempt Non-exempt employees: Typically, non-exempt employees are paid on an hourly basis NWSRA recognizes the high level of professionalism, education and certification required of each full time position Therefore, NWSRA chooses to continue to pay a salary to all full time staff Benefits of being a salaried employee versus an hourly employee include paid vacation, sick time, personal days and holidays (estimated worth of benefit: $4,380)
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt (continued) Could two people with the same position have different exemption statuses? Yes! Here’s why: Salaries are higher for employees who have more years of experience and involvement in the field Due to longevity, these employees typically are rewarded with more vacation days than those staff that would fall within the non-exempt status Conversely, non-exempt employees have the ability to earn approved comp time, which exempt employees do not NWSRA will follow the salary threshold set by the US Department of Labor
Budget In worst case scenarios, following are the estimated budget amounts for payout of contingency overtime: Trainings= $9,200 Unforeseen circumstances= $5,800 This equates to 170 hours of OT (approximately 2.75 hours of overtime, each of the 40 weeks of programming) Total recommended 2017 budget= $15,000 This recommendation may be cut easily by choosing not to pay overtime in these circumstances and allowing the staff member to accrue comp days up to the federal threshold
Assumptions Utilizing a rate of $19.09, the highest rate of pay for a current non exempt employee + time and a half + 2% increase + FICA + IMRF Budgeted at maximum exposure Based on staff working up to 40 hours per week within holiday weeks Based on revised overnight trip offerings for 2017 Based on overtime pay/comp time only being given to staff who do not meet the salary threshold Reviewed week by week of the year and every event
Overtime and Comp Time Policy Recommendations Following are recommendations for items to be included in the NWSRA policy for Overtime and Comp Time: NWSRA will abide by standards set forth by the Fair Labor Standards Act, including definition of a 40 hour work week Non-exempt staff are required to obtain supervisor approval of schedule prior to the work week. If schedule changes, they must notify supervisor for re-approval. First step is to readjust the rest of the week. Approved time worked above 40 hours/week qualifies for Comp Time up to the Federal threshold of 240 hours Approved time worked below 40 hours/week qualifies for use of earned Comp Time
Overtime and Comp Time Procedure Recommendations Following are recommendations for items to be included in the NWSRA procedure for Overtime and Comp Time: Overtime pay for accrued comp hours that do not exceed the Federal threshold will only be provided upon recommendation of a Superintendent and approval by the Executive Director Staff may not have more than 60 comp hours accrued. All comp days from the previous year must be used by the end of February. Any earned comp time must be used prior to the use of vacation time In the case of an unforeseen situation where unscheduled working hours take place, staff are required to report these hours to their supervisor.
Procedure Recommendations Continued: Comp Time- Recommendation for Tracking Hours By Wednesday of each week, staff will create an Outlook calendar invitation that will be sent to his/her supervisor for approval. The invitation will include the following information: Hours to be worked for each day of the week Total number of hours to be worked within the week If changes/adjustments to a staff member’s schedule are requested, they must: Make the change in the Outlook calendar The updated invitation will be automatically sent to the supervisor for approval The supervisor will follow up with the staff member as needed to ensure proper amount of hours are recorded/comp time used
Implementation Timeline Document to be created Completion Date Overtime/Comp Time Policy Outlining when it is overtime versus comp time August 15 Procedure for tracking hours September 1 Procedure for submitting Comp Time Request Procedure for submitting OT payment request To include clarification on payment timeline for overtime pay Review by legal counsel September 12 Training for Managers complete October 3 Finalize training for staff October 12 Presentation to Personnel Committee Rollout presentation to staff October 19 Letters for staff October 20
Program changes Block days to allow for comp time Staff meetings- later start times Analyzing which programs require full time staff Saturday on-call staff will be required to take a day off on the week(s) assigned Trip offerings Creation of a calendar that will show: Approved Comp Time/Overtime days and assigned staff Days that should be used for earned Comp Time
Outstanding Action Items Trisha to work with ADP as procedures are developed Communication with parents on updates to trip offerings Finalize training for staff, including development of written notification/clarification letters Create video for FLSA to explain new policy to the public Look into iPads for staff- $750/staff x 21 staff= $15,750