Hours of Work, Overtime, Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
for University Support Staff and Unclassified Professional Staff

Chapter 4220

Revised December 23, 2009, October 5, 2010, October 17, 2011, November 7, 2011, March 10, 2014, June 27, 2014, July 28, 2014, June 18, 2024 and June 27, 2024

.020 Statutes, Regulations and Policies

.030 Basic Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

.040 What the FLSA Does Not Cover

.050 Exempt and nonexempt Status

.070 Overtime, Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time

.085 Alternative Work Schedules--Flextime

.100 Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

.110 Policy on Reductions in Salary of Exempt Employees

.010 Introduction

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that sets minimum wage, overtime pay, equal pay, record keeping and child labor standards for employees (who are covered by the Act) in the private sector as well as those employed in federal, state and local government. The FLSA was enacted by the United States Congress in 1938 and amended several times since.

Kansas State University, Human Resources (HR) has the responsibility for ensuring and maintaining compliance with the FLSA. HR assigns each position to either overtime eligible or overtime exempt status, based upon the nature of the position's duties and its level of responsibility and the testing criteria established by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Local agency employees are covered by the FLSA, but are not eligible for the special compensatory time provision (in lieu of overtime pay) afforded public employees.

Fair Labor Standards Act requirements apply to positions and employees, not to job titles. Each individual position must be analyzed to determine whether the position is overtime eligible or exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements.

.020 Statutes, Regulations, and Policies

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) are comprehensive documents. Consequently, this chapter covers the FLSA as it relates to Kansas State University. As such, not every scenario or regulation provision is discussed. For clarification or expansion on any portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act, contact Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness in Human Resources at 785-532-1866. The following is a listing of statutes, regulations and policies relevant to this chapter:

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, as amended
FLSA Regulations, Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
KSU Policy and Procedures Manual Chapter 3090, Retention of Records
KSU Policy and Procedures Manual Chapter 4450, Compensation for University Support Staff
KSU Policy and Procedures Manual Chapter 4720, Hourly Student Employees

.030 Basic Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Minimum Wage.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers of covered employees who are not otherwise exempt to pay these employees a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour (7/24/09). Though the FLSA allows for certain full-time students and student learners to be paid less than the minimum wage under special certificates issued by the Department of Labor, the minimum wage rate for hourly student employees at Kansas State University is $7.25 per hour (06/14/09). The notice of federal minimum wage must be displayed where employees can readily see it.
Child Labor Restrictions.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates the minimum age and maximum hours of employment of minors in certain occupations with different standards for employment of minors who are 14-15 years old and those who are 16-18 years old. The policy at Kansas State University requires that an employee be at least 16 years of age or at least 18 years old for employment in a hazardous occupation as defined by the Department of Labor. For further information on specific issues concerning the employment of minors, contact Human Resources, Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness.
Record Keeping.
Employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are required to keep records for a certain amount of time on wages, hours, sex, occupations, and other terms and practices of employment for exempt and nonexempt employees. This information is fully discussed under "Record Keeping" in Section .090.
Overtime Liability.
Only nonexempt employees are covered by the overtime liability regulations. A nonexempt employee earns overtime for time worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Exempt employees do not earn overtime (Section .050 A).
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not limit the number of hours that an employee can work in a day or in a week. It simply requires that overtime hours be compensated at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the nonexempt employee's regular rate of pay for each hour worked in a workweek in excess of 40 hours per week. For instance, working 9 hours in a regular 8-hour day does not constitute overtime until or unless the 40-hour maximum has been reached. Additionally, overtime liability is not reached until 40 actual hours have been worked in the workweek. This is not the same as "in pay status" which takes into account time off for paid leaves of any sort. See Section .070 A and B for further information.
A special provision authorizes public agencies, e.g. K-State, to provide compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation at a rate of not less than one and one-half hours of compensatory time for each hour of overtime worked, the same calculation used for monetary overtime. Kansas State University has adopted this provision and reserves the right to use compensatory time off in lieu of monetary payment for overtime worked. The agreement to accept compensatory time off for overtime is voluntary, however. This information is fully discussed under "Overtime and Compensatory Time" in Section .070. Special Note: Local Agency employees are not eligible to receive compensatory time in lieu of pay for overtime worked.
Equal Pay Act of 1963.
The Equal Pay Act was enacted as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The equal pay regulations prohibit an employer from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex by paying employees of one sex less than employees of the opposite sex for equal work performed under similar working conditions within an establishment on jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility.

.040 What the FLSA Does Not Cover

Meal and Rest Periods.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require that employers give their employees meal or rest periods, regardless of the number of consecutive hours they work. However, giving employees some sort of meal break during the workday is common practice. Though the FLSA does not mandate meal or rest periods, it does address the issue of compensability of such time if it is given. See Section .060 for a complete discussion.
Extra Pay for Saturdays, Sundays, or Shift Work.
Additional compensation is not due for work performed on Saturdays and Sundays. The FLSA only requires that nonexempt employees are to be paid at one and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. However, at Kansas State University, a shift differential policy is in place for employees who work in positions which are classified as nonexempt and who are eligible to receive overtime. See Section .060 (G), Hours of Work, for information on shift differential.
Holiday, Sick, Vacation, and Other Leaves.
The FLSA does not require either paid or unpaid leave for sickness, holidays, vacations, jury duty, personal time or military service for most employees. However, the State of Kansas has provided employees with benefits associated with paid and unpaid leave. Additionally, the Family Medical Leave Act is also in force. See Chapter 4860 of the Policy and Procedures Manual for information on leave benefits.
Pay Raises or Fringe Benefits.
The FLSA does not mandate pay raises or fringe benefits. The Act only requires that nonexempt employees be paid no less than the minimum wage for each hour worked. Refer to the applicable section of the Policy and Procedures Manual for information on benefits.
Consent to Work Overtime.
The FLSA does not require notice to or consent from employees when scheduling overtime hours. Employers have the discretion to establish employee work schedules as they desire so long as workers are compensated properly and wages and overtime requirements are observed. For most Kansas State University full-time employees, the standard workday is eight hours, and the standard workweek is 40 hours during a given seven-day workweek. Advance notice of work schedule is recommended in those situations where an employer wants to avoid placing an employee into overtime status. For instance, if an employer knows that in the next workweek there will be cause to work varying hours, then the employer can readjust the work schedule to accommodate that temporary need so long as the employee is notified of the proposed change at least five calendar days in advance. This advance scheduling allows the employer to avoid the overtime situation by readjusting the workday and by scheduling time off for the employee within the same workweek. Two other instances would allow for adjustments to the workweek to avoid overtime liability: the employer could have a written policy stating the employee is required to take equivalent time off in the workweek in which additional time is worked; or, the employee could request or agree to take the time off. In the latter two cases, no advance notice of the schedule change is required. For complete information regarding overtime, see Section .070.

.050 Exempt and nonexempt Status

The exempt status of an employee, i.e. exempt vs. nonexempt, is determined by the duties of the position and the employee in the position when applicable. Status is not determined based on the job title of the position, such as Public Service Administrator II, Physical Plant Supervisor, Grants Specialist or Research Assistant. The key distinction between exempt and nonexempt status is the overtime liability issue. Determining the status of all positions and employees as exempt or nonexempt is the responsibility of Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness, Human Resources.

Employees with salaries below the FLSA threshold of $884/week ($43,888/year) are automatically nonexempt and eligible for overtime pay. This is true for all employees, including part-time workers. (The salary is not prorated to equal a full-time salary.) The only exception to the salary requirement is for teaching faculty. Appointments on employees whose salaries fall below $884/week will automatically default to nonexempt in the Human Resource Information System.

Even when the minimum salary is reached, each position is still considered to be nonexempt unless a formal review has been conducted. Reviewing a position for exempt status involves examining the position description and organizational chart, auditing the job and the employee, verifying degree requirements as indicated for the professional exemption, and applying the tests for exemption as set forth by the Fair Labor Standards Act. There are four categories of exempt status used at Kansas State University: executive exempt, administrative exempt, professional exempt, and computer exempt.

Exempt Employees (Not Eligible for Overtime Compensation). Must meet basic salary threshold of $884/week and meet applicable Department of Labor Tests.)
Exempt employees are paid a salary that covers the amount of time required to perform the job. That salary cannot be reduced because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed. (See Section .110). Because of this, exempt employees are only required to report leave, not time worked for payroll purposes. Record keeping requirements are discussed in Section .090. An exempt employee is "exempt" from the overtime liability regulations and will not receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40.
A normal workweek is to be established by management for exempt employees who are expected to be available during the normal workday. Although compensation is not determined by the specific number of hours worked, an exempt position normally requires a minimum of 40 hours per week to meet the needs of the agency. Exempt employees must follow leave request procedures established by the agency for any time away from work. Even time away from work of less than a half-day must have prior approval, though it is not reported as leave. Vacation and sick leave is only recorded when the employee uses leave in half- or full-day increments. Half-day increments are defined as one half the regularly scheduled workday. Full-day increments are defined as the hours regularly scheduled to work. For example, if an employee works 4 ten-hour days, then the full-day increment would be ten hours and the half-day increment would be five hours. All other types of leave are reported in quarter hour increments.
The hours away from work do not have to be consecutive to meet the half-day requirement. For instance, if an exempt employee is away from work in the morning and also in the afternoon, and the hours away total more than a half-day but not a full day, then a half-day of leave would be reported for that day.
An employee who abuses the procedures by continuously taking less than a half-day of time away from work to avoid using vacation or sick leave, can be denied time away from work or be required to use half- or full-days of leave. If the employee is required to use half or full days of leave as a result of abusing time off, then the employee cannot return to work before the allotted time of leave is used.
nonexempt Employees (Eligible for Overtime Compensation). All employees with salaries below $884/week and all employees with salaries above $884/week who do not meet the criteria set for one of the Department of Labor exemptions.
A nonexempt employee will receive overtime compensation pay or compensatory time at one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked in a workweek beyond 40. nonexempt employees are paid on an hourly basis; the number of hours worked in any given workweek is reported along with any leave time used. Hours worked and applicability of overtime regulations are discussed in Section .060 and .070. Record keeping is discussed in Section .090.
If a nonexempt employee's status is going to change to exempt, all accrued compensatory time must be paid to the employee or granted as time off, or a combination of both, before the change can take place.

.060 Hours of Work

nonexempt Employees Only

The standard workday, generally, for each full-time employee will be eight hours (regardless of the schedule such as 8-5 or 9-6), and the standard workweek will be 40 hours during a given seven-day period. At Kansas State University, the 7-day period begins on Sunday morning at 12:01 a.m. and ends on Saturday night at 12:00 midnight.

Work time includes all the time an employee is required to be on duty, or on the employer's premises or at a prescribed workplace. Work is defined as all efforts that are suffered (i.e. endured), permitted, or required by the employer, i.e., all time spent in physical or mental exertion that is controlled or required by the employer and pursued necessarily and primarily for the benefit of the employer. Work that is not requested but suffered or permitted (allowed), is still considered work time. This rule is applicable to work performed at the worksite, away from the worksite or at home. For example, an employee may voluntarily continue to work at the end of the day or shift. The employee may wish to finish an assigned task, complete a report, or correct errors. The reason is immaterial. If the employer knows, or has reason to believe that work is continuing or there is evidence thereof, then the time is compensable working time. The mere existence/announcement of a rule against such work is not enough to deny compensation. If a supervisor observes an employee working before or beyond the normal shift without prior authorization, supervisors may deliver a verbal warning to the employee to cease working followed by a written reprimand for a second occurrence. Employees who disregard warnings to cease work activity may be subject to disciplinary action.

Waiting Time.
If an employee is unable to use time effectively for personal purposes while waiting for work, instructions, or preparation of the work site, then the time is considered to be working time. These instances are usually of short duration. For example, an employee waiting on machinery to arrive or be prepared, a keyboard operator waiting on software to be installed, or an administrative employee waiting on seminar participants to arrive or depart would be considered working.
Preparatory and Concluding Activities.
Preparatory and concluding activities that are an integral part of the employee's work are compensable. Examples include: turning on machinery or equipment and conducting safety checks; filing away documents at the end of a shift; reporting to a duty site to receive an update on events which occurred on the previous shift, and changing into special clothes that are required for the job.
Meal and Rest Periods.
1. Rest Periods. Breaks or rest periods must be counted as hours worked if they last 20 minutes or less. Whether breaks are granted, and the length of a break, such as 5 minutes or 15 minutes, is at the discretion of the individual unit director.
2. Meals. Bona fide meal periods are not work time. Meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks: these are rest periods. During a bona fide meal period, the employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals. Ordinarily, 30 minutes or more is long enough for a bona fide meal period. The employee is not considered to be relieved of duties if the employee is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating. For example, if an employee must sit at a desk and incidentally answer the telephone, the time would be compensable. The employee must be free to leave the duty post, but there is no requirement that the employee be allowed to leave the premises or work site. If an employee's time and attention are primarily occupied by a private or personal pursuit, such as relaxing or eating, rather than work responsibilities that prevent the employee from comfortably and adequately passing the mealtime, then the employee is relieved from duty.
On-Call and Stand-by Compensation. nonexempt university support staff only.
An employee who is required to remain on call on the employer's premises, or so close thereto that the employee cannot use the time effectively for personal pursuits, is considered to be working while "on-call." In this instance, an employee must be paid for this time at the regular rate of pay instead of receiving stand-by compensation. An employee, who is not required to remain on the employer's premises but is merely required to leave contact information where he can be reached, is not working while on-call. However, the FLSA allows employers to choose whether to compensate employees for time spent on-call, but not working.
Standby compensation is paid if an employee is required to remain available to an employer within a specified response time, but is otherwise free to engage in personal pursuits. The requirement to be available by cell phone, paging device, or other electronic device, does not automatically make an employee eligible for the standby pay. Response time, number and frequency of calls, and the department's policy will determine whether such an employee will receive the additional compensation. Department on-call policies should clearly define the expectations for employees on call.
The stand-by rate of compensation is set at $2.00 per hour for each hour the employee serves on stand-by status. If an employee is called in to work, the employee will be compensated for the actual hours worked, but not also be paid stand-by compensation for those hours. Hours on stand-by pay are not considered when determining hours worked for overtime purposes.
Call in/Call Back to Work. nonexempt university support staff only.
Employees may be called in to work on a regular day off or may be called back to work after a regular work schedule. In these instances, nonexempt employees will be paid at the appropriate rate of pay for the number of hours worked. Such employees will be paid for a minimum of two hours except in the following circumstances:
1. The employee was on stand-by status (.060 D) when called in or called back; or
2. The employee was called in or called back during the two hour period immediately prior to the beginning of the employee's next regularly scheduled work shift. Only hours actually worked will be credited in determining eligibility for overtime compensation.
De Minimis Rule.
Insubstantial or insignificant periods of time outside scheduled working hours may be disregarded in recording time. This rule applies to only those times where the work involved is limited to a few seconds or minutes that cannot as a practical administrative matter be precisely recorded for payroll purposes. Such time is considered "de minimis," i.e., minor or trivial. At Kansas State University, time for nonexempt employees is recorded in quarter hours. If an employee works greater than 7 minutes, it must be reported as time worked.
Shift-Differential. nonexempt university support staff only.
Kansas State University has established two day shifts: 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Each department must specify only one of these 12-hour periods from which normal day shifts may be designated. Normal day shifts must fall entirely within those specified hours. A shift differential will be paid to nonexempt employees whose regularly established work shifts begin before or end after the designated 12-hour period. For example, an employee who is regularly scheduled for and works from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. will be paid shift differential for their entire work shift. The default day shift established by the University is the 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. time period. A department wishing to switch its specified day shift to the 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. period must first obtain approval from Human Resources.
The amount of shift differential is currently $.40 per hour, except for those individuals covered by memorandum of agreement that specifies a different shift differential hourly rate. Shift differential will not be paid to an employee for any unscheduled hours that occur before or after a normal day shift, or when an employee is on any type of leave or holiday.
Time Spent in Travel or at Training. See Section .080.
Nursing Mother Break Time. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that a reasonable break time be allowed for nonexempt nursing mothers to express milk for their nursing child. The frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary. Break times may include not only time in which to express milk but also time to sanitize and store the equipment at each break. If the department/unit is not able to provide a nursing mother with a space to express breast milk then adequate time to travel to and from another building where an appropriate space is located must be allowed. Nursing mothers are eligible for the break for up to one year after the child's birth.

.070 Overtime, Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time

nonexempt Employees Only

Overtime is the term given to hours worked beyond 40 in one workweek. Overtime hours are compensated either monetarily (pay) or in compensatory time off, both at the one and one-half time rate for each hour over 40.

Overtime
The granting of overtime is contingent upon an existing need, usually temporary, such as additional workload, special projects or events, or to cover the absence of another employee. Working additional hours for the purpose of receiving additional pay or accruing extra compensatory time off for future use (e.g. to avoid depleting leave reserves) is prohibited and creates an unnecessary fiscal obligation for departments.
Overtime is reached once an employee has worked beyond the 40-hour maximum allowable hours in a given workweek. Compensation for overtime hours must be paid at the one and one-half time rate to nonexempt employees for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any given week. The department head/director of the unit is responsible for control of overtime. Overtime, to the extent possible, will be authorized in advance by the responsible supervisor.
1. Overtime Hours. In determining whether an employee has worked any overtime, only those hours actually worked will be considered. This is not the same as "in-pay status" which includes all paid leave hours, no matter the type. Under certain restrictive and emergency conditions as determined by Human Resources, an official state holiday may be counted as time worked for employees in positions eligible to receive overtime compensation.
  An instance of "in-pay status" as opposed to overtime status is the scenario where the number of hours worked is less than or equal to 40, but when added to leave time taken becomes greater than 40. In this case, the extra hours are termed "additional" and are to be paid at the regular rate of pay. Alternatives for handling additional hours are listed in Section .070 (A)(3) below. To avoid placing an employee into an overtime situation, an employer can plan in advance to change the employee's work schedule. See Section .040 (E) for a full discussion.
2. Overtime Pay. Payment for overtime worked will be at one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay. This rate will not include premium pay for holidays worked or any call-in and callback compensation paid for hours not actually worked. Refer to Chapter 4450 for information on calculating overtime.
3. Additional Hours. These are neither overtime nor compensatory time hours. Additional hours are earned when an employee is in pay status (which includes all leave hours) for more than 40 hours but has not actually worked more than 40 hours. In this instance, an employee may be given equivalent time off in the same workweek as discussed in Section .040 (E), or paid at the hourly rate of pay. Alternatively, hours of leave may be credited back to the employee if the employee agrees to the arrangement. Additional hours may not be accrued as compensatory time.
Compensatory Time. (Local agency employees are not eligible for compensatory time.)
Compensatory time is an alternative method of overtime payment for hours worked over 40 for nonexempt employees. As such, it must be approved in advance as overtime. The same overtime principles apply: working extra hours in order to accrue compensatory time off for future use is prohibited.
In lieu of paying a nonexempt employee for overtime worked, employees may be granted compensatory time off at the rate of one and one-half hours off for each hour of overtime worked, at some time after the workweek in which the overtime was worked if the following conditions are met:
1. Agreement or understanding PER-34. The employer reaches an agreement with the employee to accept compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay prior to the performance of the overtime worked. The same agreement does not have to be reached with each employee.
2. The employee knowingly and voluntarily agrees to accept compensatory time.
3. The employee is informed that the compensatory time earned may be preserved, used, or cashed out in a manner consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The maximum accrual limit at K-State is 120 hours of compensatory time for overtime hours worked. Any employee who has accrued 120 hours of compensatory time will be compensated with overtime pay for any overtime hours worked in excess of the 120-hour maximum.
Employees who have requested the use of compensatory time will be permitted to use such time within a reasonable period after making the request if use of the time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the unit. Mere inconvenience to an employer is insufficient reason to deny an employee's request to use compensatory time. Likewise, each employee who has accrued compensatory time off may be required to use the compensatory time within a reasonable period after receiving notice to do so. The notice will include the length of time in which a specified number of hours of compensatory time are to be used. A department may opt to pay out all or any portion of compensatory time due an employee at the department's discretion.
An employer may decide to pay out, in whole or in part, any overtime worked without affecting subsequent granting of compensatory time for future overtime worked.
If an employee separates, promotes, demotes or transfers, unused compensatory time must be paid out. Additionally, if a nonexempt employee's status changes to exempt, compensatory time must be used or paid out prior to the effective date.

.080 Travel and Training

nonexempt Employees Only

Travel.
The principles that apply in determining whether or not time spent in travel is working time depend upon the kind of travel involved. Travel scenarios differ greatly and advance planning with Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness is often helpful.
To and From Work: Time spent "walking, riding, or traveling to and from the actual place of performance of the principal activity {work}" is not work time and therefore is not compensable. The use of an employer's car to travel to and from work is generally not compensable so long as the use of such vehicle is within the normal commuting area for the employer's business and the employee voluntarily agrees that such time is not compensable. In this case, a commuting agreement must be in writing outlining the arrangement with the employee for use of the employer's vehicle. The agreement must include the understanding that no compensation will be received for the time spent in transit to and from home.
Travel During the Work Day: Travel time of an employee during the workday, such as travel to and from repair sites and time spent traveling to a central location to receive instructions or pick up tools, must be counted as hours worked.
One day out-of-town travel: If a nonexempt employee travels out of town for less than one day, the employee must be paid for all travel time, excluding travel time from home to public transportation (commuting time) and bona fide meal times.
Overnight travel: Employees who travel overnight on business must be paid for time spent traveling (except for meal periods) during their normal working hours on their regular working days as well as during normal working hours on their non-working days, such as Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. For instance, if an employee's working time is regularly scheduled 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, then any travel on Saturday and Sunday between those hours is also compensable.
Training Programs, Lectures and Meetings.
Time spent in training programs, lectures and meetings is not considered working time if all four of the following are true:
1. Attendance is outside of the employee regular working hours.
2. Attendance is voluntary.
3. The course, lecture, or meeting is not directly related to the employee's job, and
4. The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance.

.085 Alternative Work Schedules--Flextime

When determined by the immediate supervisor and department head to be consistent with departmental needs, departments may institute a schedule of flexible working hours for university support staff and managerial/professional employees, provided it does not increase staffing costs or decrease departmental efficiency. Flextime allows employees to maintain a work schedule other than normal university hours. Regardless of flextime scheduling, all offices must be staffed to maintain regular operations during normal university hours of operation. Flextime does not alter the standard work week of 40 hours for full-time employees. Flextime schedules must be approved by the immediate supervisor and by the department head in advance. Abuse of flextime scheduling may result in loss of the privilege. Occasions may arise when flextime must be suspended temporarily because of departmental work load, vacations, holidays or other reasons. When this occurs, the department should give employees as much advance notice as possible.

When an employee uses leave while working a flexible schedule, the leave reported is the actual hours scheduled for that time. For example, if a nonexempt employee is scheduled to work 10 hours per day and uses leave for the entire day, the employee reports 10 hours of leave for that day.

.090 Record Keeping

Records to be Kept.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that records be kept on both nonexempt and exempt employees. Much of the required information, such as name, social security number, address, date of birth, sex, occupation, earnings and hours worked are computerized through the Human Resource Information System. However, units are required to keep the following records for nonexempt and exempt employees:
1. Appointment Form PER-38 (pdf) (this includes basic information such as name, social security numbers, address, and sex).
2. Proof of date of birth if employee is under 19.
3. Employee work schedule.
4. Time and Leave Document (nonexempt) and Leave Record (Exempt).
  1. nonexempt employee's time and leave documents will include hours worked and leave taken.
  2. Exempt employee's leave records will only indicate leave taken.
  Additionally, these records must be kept on nonexempt employees:
5. Agreement to accept compensatory time (Compensatory Time Agreement PER-34).
6. Commuting agreement, if applicable.
Retention of Records. Please refer to PPM Chapter 3090 for retention information.
Time Sheets
FLSA requires employers to maintain accurate records of hours worked each workday (29 C.F.R. ' 516.2(a)(7). Timesheets (electronic and paper) serve as K-State's authority to pay an employee. Employees are to provide an accurate accounting of hours worked and leave used during a pay period on a timesheet. An employee's timesheet must be verified and approved by the employee's supervisor or the supervisor's designee who should be aware of the employee's attendance.
Completed timesheets require the signatures of the employee and the supervisor. These signatures certify that, to the best of their knowledge, the information provided on the documents is true and correct. Any changes made to the timesheet by the supervisor must be acknowledged by the employee that the changes are valid and are a true representation of all the time worked. Electronic reporting of time by the employee and electronic approval by the supervisor using an electronic system approved for time and leave reporting by Human Resources are considered as valid signatures.

.100 Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) authorizes the Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate and gather data concerning wages, hours, and other employment practices by auditing employer records and interviewing employees and employers. Each unit at Kansas State University is responsible for ensuring and maintaining compliance with the FLSA for their employees.

Compliance with the FLSA is accomplished through adherence to the guidelines set out in this chapter. Common problem areas include ignorance of the "suffer and permit" rules concerning working time (Section .060), rules and regulations concerning overtime (Section .070) and exempt/nonexempt status of employees (Section .050).

In addition to payment of unpaid wages due employees, the Department of Labor (DOL) can assess fines for violations, be they willful or not.

.110 Policy on Reductions in Salary of Exempt Employees

Limitations on the Reduction of the Salary of an Exempt Employee:

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires exempt employees be compensated on a "salary basis," as required by the U.S. Department of Labor. The salary of an exempt employee cannot be reduced because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed. An exempt employee must be paid the full salary for any week in which work is performed. No salary will be paid in any workweek when no work is performed.

Authorized Reductions in the Salary* of an Exempt Employee are Limited to the Following Situations:

Absences from work for one or more full days for personal reasons, other than sickness or disability;
To offset any amounts received as payment for jury duty fees, witness fees, or military pay;
Penalties imposed in good faith for violating safety rules of "major significance";
Unpaid disciplinary suspension of one or more full days imposed in good faith for violations of workplace conduct rules;
A portion of an employee's full salary may be paid for time actually worked in the first and last weeks of employment;
Unpaid leave taken pursuant to the Family Medical Leave Act; or
Deductions in the salary of exempt employees due to a budgetary required furlough.

*These are reductions in salary. Reductions from leave accruals for sick, vacation and other authorized leaves will still be made in half or full day increments.

Resolution Process:

If an exempt employee believes his or her salary was reduced improperly, the employee should contact Human Resources.

Reimbursement for Improper Deductions: Employees will be fully reimbursed for deductions found to be in error.

.120 Questions

Human Resources (HR) is responsible for this policy. The Vice President or designee must approve any exception to this policy or related procedures. Questions should be directed to Human Resources, Compensation and Organizational Effectiveness at 785-532-6277 or hrcomp@ksu.edu.

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