What Every Supervisor Should Know
Other Resources:
- BOLI Breaks: Meal & Rest Periods
- BOLI Paychecks: Paychecks
- Employee Groups and CBAs
Wage and Hour: Nonexempt vs. Exempt Definitions
Nonexempt: Employees who are covered by the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). They may be paid on an hourly or salary basis. In other words, these employees are not exempt from this act; rather, they are subject to it. Employees covered by FLSA must complete monthly timesheets to track all hours worked.
Exempt: Employees who are exempt from the minimum wage, overtime pay, and certain recording keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Overtime: Hours worked in excess of maximums set by federal or state law that must be compensated at a premium rate of pay ( e.g. under the FLSA, all hours worked over 40 in a workweek must be paid at no less than 1.5 times the employee?s regular rate of pay.
Compensatory Time: Paid time off granted to an employee for working extra hours. The Fair Labor Standards Act places severe restrictions on the use of compensatory time to avoid paying overtime, although special exemptions are allowed for public sector employees.
Employer Obligation
Employers must pay employees in a timely fashion, and it is up to you as a supervisor to ensure that employees' hours are being accurately tracked. Employers may not withhold or delay paychecks as a disciplinary measure. An employee who fails to submit timesheets on a timely basis must still receive a paycheck on the regularly scheduled payday. An employer does remain free to take other disciplinary mearures.
Best Practices
Written documentation for time worked, leave requested, and leave taken should be documented in writing whenever possible. The following general rules apply.
Managers and supervisors are responsible for:
- Approving or denying time off and overtime for employees under their supervision.
- Assuring that time worked, overtime, and leave time are accurately reported by employees under their supervision prior to published payroll deadlines.
- Designating another supervisor/manager to approve time worked, overtime, and leave time in their absence. The designee must have authority for approving these expenditures.
- Retaining approved requests for time off.
- Assuring that all subordinate supervisors are complying with this policy.
Employees are responsible for:
- Providing supervisors with a written request for time off.
- Requesting prior approval for overtime.
- Recording time worked, time off, and overtime on time sheets (nonexempt employees).
Leave Reporting
Leave usage is reported by employees on a monthly basis. For salaried employees, the leave is reported at the end of the month and recorded in Banner during the next months' time entry period. As a result, the leave balance reported on the earning statement for salaried employees is not current.
Hourly employees are paid from mid-month to mid-month, with a two week lag until payday. Unlike salaried employees, the leave balance for hourly employees reported on the earnings statement is current for the pay period. At the UO, there is no defined mid-month to mid-month calendar; the payroll period may be determined by the individual department.
As a supervisor, it is important to monitor the leave totals for employees in your department, and to encourage employees to take time away from the office when the hours are getting close to the maximum.
Vacation and sick leave is "taken" then "accrued"
In Banner, the employee's current available balances for classified and unclassified employees are derived by first subtracting the leave reported as being taken and then accruing leave time based on the employee's pay.
Salaried:
For both employee groups, when paid on a salaried basis, sick and vacation accruals are available at the first of the month following. For example: the accrual is on payday, February 28, and may be used on March 1.
Reminder: Pay for a salaried employee is always based on the employee's current attendance and only leave hours taken are reported a month late. Therefore, you need to subtract the leave hours taken for the prior month from the current leave balance to help determine if this employee has sufficient leave hours to receive a full month check. If not, the employee's pay needs to be adjusted accordingly to prevent an overpayment and tax complications may be the result if an employee does not repay the overpayment in full within the same tax year. It's important for you to contact the Payroll Office immediately for assistance whenever a salaried employee is going on leave or separating from the university.
Hourly:
For both employee groups, when paid on an hourly basis, sick and vacation accruals are available at the first of the pay period following. For example: the accrual is at the end of the mid-month pay period, February 16, and may be used on February 17.
Note:
The take and accrue rule does not apply to compensatory time, since it can be earned (accrued) and used (taken) in the same month.
Vacation and Personal Leave Chart
| Vacation Leave | Cap | Comments | Banked |
| Classified Vacation Leave* | 250 hours | Yes** | |
| Unclassified Vacation Leave | 260 hours | Pay out limited to 180 hours*** | No |
| Classified Personal Leave | 24 hours | Must be used by June 30th each year. | Yes** |
*There are provisions in the SEIU agreement which allow classified employees to receive cash out of accrued vacation of up to 40 hours: if they are nearing the accrual cap and at the risk of losing accrual, or annually during the month of January . HR Request for Vacation Cash Out
** For new hires, personal and vacation leave is not available for immediate usage, and is banked for six months.
*** The maximum cash value at the time of separation or upon the assumption of a vacation ineligible position is 180 hours.
Sick Leave Accrual Chart
| Sick Leave Accruals | Hours Per Month | Comments |
| Full-Time Classified and Unclassified | 8 hours per month | Available upon accrual |
Employee Groups and Collective Bargaining Agreements
Vacation Leave Accrual Chart
| Full-Time Classified Vacation Leave Accruals | Hours Per Month | Comments |
| 6 months through 5th year | 8 hours per month | Banked for first 6 months |
| After 5th year through 10th year | 10 hours per month | |
| After 10th year through 15th year | 12 hours per month | |
| After 15th year through 20th year | 14 hours per month | |
| After 20th year through 25 year | 16 hours per month | |
| After 25th year | 18 hours per month | |
| 12-Month Full-Time Unclassified Vacation Leave Accruals | Hours Per Month | Comments |
| Immediately | 15 hours per month |
Employee Groups and Collective Bargaining Agreements
Rest Periods and Meal Periods
Rest Period
- Classified Employees
SEIU Contract, Article 55, Section 6
Except for employees working four (4) 10 hour (4/10) workday schedules, employees shall receive a rest period of fifteen (15) minutes I every four (4) hours working time to be taken insofar as practicable in the middle of such working period.
Employees working 4/10 hour work day schedules shall receive a rest period of twenty (20) minutes in every five (5) hours working time to be taken insofar as practicable in the middle of such working period.
- Other Nonexempt:: students, temporaries, and nonexempt unclassified
Excerpt from BOLI's Wage and Hour Laws, A handbook for Oregon Employers, 2012 Edition
"Oregon law requires an employee to provide a paid rest period of not less than 10 minutes for every segment of four hours or every "major portion thereof" (meaning two hours and one minute through four hours) worked in a work period. This time must be taken in addition to and separately from required meal periods. The rest period should be taken as nearly as possible in the middle of the work segment. It is prohibited for an employer to allow employees to add the rest period to a meal period or to deduct the rest periods from the beginning or end of the employee's work shift."
OAR 839-020-0050(6)(a)(B)
Minors
Excerpt from BOLI's Wage and Hour Laws, A handbook for Oregon Employers, 2012 Edition
Paid rest periods of at least 15 minutes must be provided for all minors during each work period of four hours or the major part of four hours. If possible, breaks should be given approximately midway in the work period.
OAR 839-021-0072(3) and (4)
Meal Period
Quote from BOLI's Wage and Hour Laws, A handbook for Oregon Employers, 2012 Edition
Oregon law requires an employer to provide an unpaid meal period of not less than 30 minutes to each non-exempt employee who works six or more hours in a work period. An employee must be relieved of all work duties during the meal period. In an employee is not relieved of all work duties during a 30 minute meal period, the employer must pay the employee for that time...... For work periods that are less than six hours, no meal period is required.
OAR 839-020-0050(3)(c)
BOLI Meal and Rest Period Chart
| Length of work period | Number of rest breaks required | Number of meal periods required |
| 2 hrs or less | 0 | 0 |
| 2 hrs, 1 min - 5 hrs, 59 minutes | 1 | 0 |
| 6 hrs | 1 | 1 |
| 6 hrs, 1 min - 10 hrs | 2 | 1 |
| 10 hrs, 1 min - 13 hrs, 59 minutes | 3 | 1 |
| 14 hrs | 3 | 2 |
| 14 hrs, 1 min to 18 hrs | 4 | 2 |
| 18 hrs, 1 min - 21 hrs, 59 minutes | 5 | 2 |
| 22 hrs | 5 | 3 |
| 22 hrs, 1 min - 24 hrs | 6 | 3 |
Additional References from BOLI's Technical Assistance for Employers:
Leave Without Pay
It is very important that you take the time to notify your office manager or payroll administrator before a leave without pay situation occurs for employees paid on a salaried basis, so that pay documents may be processed in a timely manner and overpayments are prevented. Overpayments are very stressful for employees, have tax implications, and complicate leave balance reconciliations. Many hours are spent by supervisors, departmental payroll administrators, HR staff, and Payroll staff in resolving both repayment issues and correction of leave balances when paperwork is not filed timely.
Before the extended leave period begin, we strongly encourage supervisors to have an employee schedule time with the office manager or departmental payroll administrator to review the employee's current leave balances.
FMLA/OFLA
Continued Insufficient Leave Balances
Docked pay situations should not continue month after month. Continued docked pay means continuous monthly overpayments to an employee are being ignored. Employees with continuing insufficient leave balances should be moved from salaried to hourly pay. Contact HR or Payroll staff for information.
Overtime
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Nonexempt Classified |
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Overtime pay is calculated at 1.5 times the regular houlry rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. See Article 25 - Overtime and Article 42 - Holidays of SEIU CBA. Includes paid holiday time off, compensatory time off and other time off. Work Schedule Variation & Overtime:
If Working the Holiday
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Nonexempt Unclassified |
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Overtime pay is calculated at 1.5 times the regular houlry rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a week. Note: Computation is based on actural hours worked and does not include paid leave. |
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Students and Termporary Employees |
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Overtime pay is calculated at 1.5 times the regular houlry rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a week. |
Compensatory Time / Exchange Time
| Compensatory Time | Cap | Earn Code | Rate |
| Classified (Nonexempt) | 120 hours | LEF | 1.5 the regular hourly rate (in form of cash or compensatory time) |
| Unclassified (Nonexempt) | 240 hours | LEF | 1.5 the regular hourly rate (in form of cash or compensatory time) |
| Exchange Time | Cap | Earn Code | Rate |
| Classified (Exempt) | 120 hours | LEC | Exchange time off "for authorized time worked in excess of eight (8) hours per day or forty (40) hours per week at the rate of (1) hour off for one (1) hour of overtime worked... This time off shall be utilized within the fiscal year earned or shall be lost. (See SEIU contract for exceptions) |
Note:
- Compensatory time may be earned and used in the same pay period.
- The earn code LEC (compensatory time earned at straight-time) is the appropriate means to accrue an alternate holiday. For example: When a holiday falls on a Monday, and Monday is the normal day off for an employee, payroll coordinators will enter 8 hours of LEC for full-time classified employees during time entry.
Employee Separations
When employees are separating, it is important to pay any final vacation or compensatory time balances on the last paycheck. Be sure to notify your departmental payroll administrator in a timely manner for assistance. Special attention must be made concerning leave reporting for salaried employees since the final paycheck in Banner will include two months of leave reporting.
Final Paychecks
If an employee quits with less than 48 hours notice, excluding weekends and holidays, the paycheck is due within five days, excluding weekends and holidays, or on the next regular payday, whichever comes first. ORS 652.140(2)
Example: An employee quits without notice on Monday, one week before Labor Day. The final check must be paid by the Tuesday after Labor Day, unless a regular payday occurs before that date.
If an employee quits with notice of at least 48 hours, the final check is due on the final day worked, unless the last day falls on a weekend or holiday. In that case, the check is due on the next business day. ORS 652.140(2) &(3)
Example: An employee gives three days notice that Saturday will be the last day worked. The final check is due on Monday.
Example: An employee gives two days notice that Friday will be the last day worked. The final check is due on Friday.
If an employee is discharged, the final paycheck is due not later than the end of the next business day. ORS 652.140(1)
Example: If an employee is discharged on Saturday, the check is due on Monday by the end of the day. If an employee is discharged on Monday, the check is due by the end of the day on Tuesday.
When an employer and employee mutually agree to terminate the relationship, the check is due by the end of the following business day, as in the case of discharge. ORS 652.140(1).
Time Sheet Recordkeeping
- Keep timesheets separate from personnel file. It is easier to file and purge when timesheets are kept in folders by month/year, rather than by individual name.
- Suggestion: You may find it quicker to file and purge when timesheets are filed by month/year, rather than by individual name and folder.
- Timesheet Retention Periods