Policies & Procedures

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to describe the circumstances under which employees are entitled to overtime and compensatory pay.

II. DEFINITION

1. Work Week (Full-time): Longwood’s work week, effective December 10, 2017, is 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning through 12:00 p.m. midnight of the following Saturday. For law enforcement officers, the work cycle is 28 days with 160 hours.
2. Work Week (Wage): Longwood’s work week, effective April 16, 2017, is 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning through 12:00 p.m. midnight of the following Saturday.
3. Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): The Federal Act that establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local government.
4. Exempt Employee/Position: An employee who is not subject to the provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The position meets the FLSA job duties exemption test and the employee’s salary meets the FLSA salary basis exemption test.
5. Non-exempt Employee/Position: Employees whose work hours and wages are governed by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
6. Overtime: Any hours worked by a non-exempt employee in excess of 40 hours during the work week. Overtime must be compensated through the payment of overtime pay or overtime leave and is applicable only to non-exempt employees. For law enforcement officers, overtime is physically working beyond the 160 hours in the 28 day cycle.
7. Overtime Pay: Pay at 1.5 times the employee’s rate for physically working beyond 40 hours in a work week. Non-exempt employees will be paid for physically working beyond 40 hours in a work week at a rate of one and one-half times the employee’s regular hourly rate. For law enforcement officers, overtime pay is calculated for physically working beyond the 160 hours in the 28 day cycle.
8. Overtime Leave: Leave earned at 1.5 time for hours worked over 40 in the work week. Non-exempt employees will receive overtime leave at a rate of 1.5 hours for hours worked over 40 in the work week.  For law enforcement officers, overtime leave is calculated for physically working beyond the 160 hours in the 28 day cycle.
9. Compensatory Leave: Eligible employees earn compensatory leave on an hour-for hour basis. Accrued compensatory leave expires if not taken within 12 months of the date it is earned. All compensatory leave hours must be earned prior to use.
   1. Non-exempt: hour for hour leave earned when the total hours in the work week exceeds 40 but the employee has not physically worked 40 hours. Example:  Physically worked 34 hours and used 8 hours of sick leave in the work week. The total hours in the work week are 42, and the employee would earn 2 hours of compensatory leave.
   2. Exempt: Compensatory hours accrued by exempt employees may be approved under special pre-approved circumstances on an hour for hour basis for hours worked beyond 40 hours in a work week.
   3. Compensatory leave is also earned by any classified employee who is required to work during a regularly scheduled holiday. This leave is granted hour-for-hour for work done on the holiday up to 8 hours maximum regardless of the FLSA status of the classified employee. All employees working a 24/7 operation will be paid for all holidays unless they take the holiday off.

II. POLICY

Longwood University compensates non-exempt employees in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM). Non-exempt employees will receive overtime pay or leave at the time and on-half rate for hours physically worked over forty in a work week. Notification must be provided to non-exempt employees of the decision to grant overtime leave instead of pay prior to the performance of overtime work.  Overtime compensation must be consistent for similarly situated employees. The maximum accrual of overtime leave is 80 hours. After reaching the 80-hour maximum limit for overtime leave, any additional overtime hours worked by non-exempt employees will be paid. Eligible employees earn compensatory leave on an hour-for-hour basis. Accrued compensatory leave expires if not taken within 12 months of the date is earned.  All compensatory leave hours must be earned prior to use.

Procedures:  The provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cover all Longwood University employees. FLSA establishes rules for minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor and recordkeeping; and it defines exemptions from overtime pay regulations. For FLSA purposes, each position will be designated exempt or non-exempt:

*Human Resources will determine whether the position is exempt or non-exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

1. NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES OVERTIME

1. Non-exempt employees must be compensated time and one-half (1.5) for all hours worked more than 40 in a work week. Each work week stands alone in calculating regular and overtime hours worked. Leave time and holidays do not count as physical hours worked.
2. Non-exempt law enforcement employees are paid time and one-half (1.5) for all hours worked more than 160 in a 28 day cycle. Leave time and holidays do not count as physical hours worked.
3. An employee must be required and authorized by their supervisor to work additional hours. Employees may not approve or authorize their own additional hours.
4. Tracking employee time “off the record” is prohibited.
5. Supervisors may adjust an employee’s schedule within a work week to avoid or minimize overtime payments and to meet operational needs. See example below:

2. NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES COMPENSATORY LEAVE 

1. Compensatory leave may be accrued when:
   1. An employee is declared essential and is required to work during authorized University closings;
   2. An employee works on a holiday*;
   3. A holiday falls on an employee’s regular day off*;
   4. Or when the employee has worked additional hours in a work week in which the employee has taken a holiday or leave, but has worked no more than 40 hours. If this causes the employee to physically work more than 40 hours for the work week then the overtime provisions take precedence.
      *24 hour operations (Campus Police, Dispatch and Heating Plant) will be paid compensatory time and not accrue leave.
2. Managers may adjust an employee’s schedule within a work week to avoid or minimize accrual of compensatory leave. 
3. Compensatory time may not be awarded prior to it having been earned.
4. Hourly employees do not earn compensatory time but will be paid for all hours worked including overtime hours.

3. EXEMPT EMPLOYEES

Exempt employees are not required to be paid overtime or to be granted compensatory leave for additional hours worked. An exempt employee will earn compensatory leave when required by the agency head or his/her designee to work: on an official office closing day if he or she is designated as an essential employee; or on a holiday. Managers should limit approval of compensatory leave for exempt employees to the rare instances that require an excessive amount of additional work time or adjust the work schedule to minimize compensatory leave balances.

4. ACCRUAL RATES

1. Each non-exempt employee may accrue not more than eighty (80) hours of overtime leave. If an employee works additional hours which otherwise would have been eligible for Overtime Leave, the University will pay the employee Overtime Pay for those additional hours.
2. An employee who is transferred, promoted, or demoted to an exempt position at Longwood University will be compensated for the accumulated Overtime Leave at the hourly rate being earned at the time of leaving the non-exempt position.
3. Overtime leave balances do not expire; the hours are either used by the employee or paid out to the employee upon separation or termination.
4. Compensatory leave expires if not taken within 12 months of the date it is earned. There is no maximum accumulation of compensatory leave hours.

Revised and approved by the Board of Visitors, September 7, 2002.
Revised and approved by the Board of Visitors, September 14, 2012.
Approved by the Board of Visitors, June 8, 2018