The provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, As Amended apply to all TCU nonexempt positions regardless of the source of funding.
Exempt VS Nonexempt
The human resources office reviews job duties assigned to a position. Jobs passing the executive or professional long or short tests, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act, are considered to be exempt positions. Exempt positions are not covered by the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. All other positions at TCU are considered to be nonexempt positions.
Overtime
Overtime is defined as hours worked or permitted to be worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Overtime pay is calculated at the rate of one and one-half multiplied by the regular rate of pay. Overtime compensation is paid for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek. The Fair Labor Standards Act includes the following provisions:
“Work not requested but suffered or permitted is work time. The reason is immaterial. The rule is also applicable to work performed away from the job site, or even at home.... If the employer knows or has reason to believe that the work is being performed, he must count the time as hours worked.... In all such cases it is the duty of the management to exercise its control and to see that the work is not performed if it does not want it to be performed.... Employers cannot sit back and accept the benefits without compensating for them.”
Meal Breaks
Meal breaks are not work time. Employees must be relieved from work for one meal break during every eight-hour work period. Ordinarily 30 minutes is sufficient for a meal break. Supervisors can arrange meal break schedules with their staff.
It is not necessary that staff be permitted to leave campus if they are otherwise completely free from all work responsibilities during the meal period.
Rest breaks are optional. Supervisors can choose to arrange two breaks, each lasting 20 minutes or less, during the middle of each half of the work period. Breaks are counted as hours worked if they last 20 minutes or less.
What Is The Definition of Hours Worked?
The FLSA gives each employer the latitude to determine the definition of hours worked. TCU has determined that vacation days, holidays, personal leave and breaks lasting 20 minutes or less are considered as hours worked. Sick leave and meal breaks are not considered as hours worked. These definitions apply when overtime is calculated.
Working More Than One Job At TCU
Staff who choose to work two or more jobs in different departments at TCU fall under the same FLSA guidelines for the 40-hour workweek. TCU is considered as a single employer and all of a staff member’s work for TCU is considered as one job under the FLSA.
Departments need to closely monitor the hours of these employees to avoid overtime situations.
Supervisor Notes
The FLSA requires that overtime must be paid whenever more than 40 hours are worked in any workweek. This cannot be waived by an agreement between a supervisor and a staff member. All forms can be found on the HR website www.hr.tcu.edu.
Comp time or volunteered work time is not legal options for TCU nonexempt staff.
It is the supervisor’s responsibility to assure that his or her staff does not –
- Take work home
- Start work early
- Work through meals
- Work late
- Return to work on weekends
- Work University sponsored functions, etc. unless those hours are approved, scheduled and recorded as hours worked and paid as overtime.
The following are additional related responsibilities for supervisors of both exempt and nonexempt staff -
- Assure all exempt and nonexempt staff turns in leave authorization forms to payroll as vacation and sick leave is used. TCU pays for unused vacation time at the time of separation from the university. This payment cannot be made until all leave taken has been verified and recorded. Deadlines for these forms coincide with the monthly and biweekly payroll deadlines.
- Assure all hours are accounted for on a time sheet that is maintained in the department for nonexempt staff. This time sheet may be requested in cases where overtime and leave questions arise.
