Overtime 101 Top 10 #1 responsibilities for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Admin Forum –April 8, 2008 Colleen Dutton Director, Compensation & Employee Relations

Overtime 101 Employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. The workweek at Rice is 12:00am Sunday – 11:59pm Saturday. Averaging of hours over two or more weeks is not permitted. Overtime pay earned in a particular workweek must be paid on the regular pay day for the pay period in which the wages were earned.

Overtime 101 Every employer covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must keep certain records for each covered, nonexempt worker. The records must include accurate information about the employee’s hours worked and the wages earned including: Time and day of week when employee's workweek begins Hours worked each day Total hours worked each workweek. For non-exempt employees, the B2 timesheet is used to report and manage work hours and must be signed by the employee and the supervisor stating it is accurate and correct.

Overtime 101 Work not requested but suffered or permitted to be performed is work time that must be paid for by the employer. For example, an employee may voluntarily continue to work at the end of the shift to finish an assigned task or to correct errors. The reason is immaterial. The hours are considered work time and must be paid. Supervisors may address repeated unapproved overtime worked through coaching and counseling.

Overtime 101 Overtime Pay May Not Be Waived: The overtime requirement may not be waived by agreement between the employer and employees. An agreement that only 8 hours a day or only 40 hours a week will be counted as working time is not permitted. An announcement by the employer that no overtime work will be permitted, we do not have the budget to pay OT, or that overtime work will not be paid for unless authorized in advance, is not allowed under the FLSA.

Overtime 101 Rice does not have “comp time”. As a private employer, Rice does not have the option to offer comp time in lieu of paying overtime wages. However, supervisors may adjust the employee’s work schedule during the work week to keep the total hours worked at or under 40.

Overtime 101 Summary: All schools and departments have the responsibility of maintaining compliance with the FLSA. There is no comp time or saving hours for later use. Accurate time records must be kept. Overtime must be paid if worked and paid timely. Questions – call Colleen Dutton – x 4755 or cdutton@rice.edu