Overtime

Owned by Cindy Anderson
Last updated: Dec 08, 2023 by Kisa Barthel
4 min read

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires an employer to pay non-exempt (hourly paid) workers at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in one week (defined as Sunday to Saturday). California and other state law requires overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of 8 hours in one day. Other requirements of state and local overtime payment are applied to employees who are subject to the applicable law in each jurisdiction where they work. All hours actually worked count towards overtime pay. All other paid time taken such as vacation, sick and safe, holiday, etc. does not count towards overtime pay.

It is the policy of Bethel University that overtime is kept to a minimum, consistent with the operational requirements of the institution and your department. Overtime must be scheduled and approved in advance by your supervisor.

An employee working 40 hours or less per week (in California and other jurisdictions 8 hours or less per day) is NOT eligible for overtime pay.

Non-exempt (hourly paid) Employees

Hourly paid workers must maintain a record of the total hours worked each day. These hours must be accurately recorded on your timesheet. Each employee must sign (self-service login acts as an electronic signature for online timesheets) his or her timesheet to verify that the reported hours worked are complete and accurate (and that there is no unrecorded or “off-the-clock” work). Your timesheet must accurately reflect all regular and overtime hours worked, any absences, early or late arrivals, early or late departures and meal breaks. At the end of each pay cycle, you should submit your completed timesheet for verification and approval by your supervisor. When you receive each paycheck, please verify immediately that you were paid correctly for all regular and overtime hours worked each workweek.

It is a violation of Bethel University’s policy for any employee to falsify a time card, or to alter another employee’s time card. It is also a serious violation of Bethel University policy for any employee or manager to instruct another employee to incorrectly or falsely report hours worked or alter another employee’s time card to under- or over-report hours worked. If any manager or employee instructs you to (1) incorrectly or falsely under- or over-report your hours worked, (2) alter another employee’s time records to inaccurately or falsely report that employee’s hours worked, or (3) conceal any falsification of time records or to violate this policy, do not do so. Instead, report it immediately to the Office of People and Culture.

You should not work any hours outside of your scheduled work day unless your supervisor has authorized the unscheduled work in advance. Do not start work early, finish work late, work during a meal break or perform any other extra or overtime work unless you are authorized to do so and that time is recorded on your time card. Employees are prohibited from performing any “off-the-clock” work. “Off-the-clock” work means work you may perform but fail to report on your time card. Any employee who fails to report or inaccurately reports any hours worked will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Exempt Employees

Salaried employees are “exempt” from overtime and hours reporting and receive a salary which provides compensation for all hours worked. This salary will be established at the time of hire or when you become classified as an exempt employee.

You will receive your full salary for any workweek in which work is performed. However, under federal law, your salary is subject to certain deductions. For example, absent conflicting state law requirements, your salary can be reduced for the following reasons in a workweek in which work was performed:

  • Full day absences for personal reasons, including vacation.
  • Full day absences for sickness or disability, since we have a sick and safe leave policy and short-term disability insurance plan.
  • Full day disciplinary suspensions for infractions of safety rules of major significance (including those that could cause serious harm to others).
  • Family and Medical Leave absences (either full or partial day absences).
  • To offset amounts received as payment for military pay. (See military leave policy for full details.)
  • Unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one or more full days for significant infractions of major workplace conduct rules set forth in written policies.
  • The first or last week of employment in the event you work less than a full week.

Your salary also may be reduced for certain types of deductions, such as: your portion of health, dental or life insurance premiums; state, federal or local taxes, social security; or voluntary contributions to a retirement plan such as a 403(b), 401(k) or pension plan. In any workweek in which you perform any work, your salary will not be reduced for any of the following reasons:

  • Your absence because the facility is closed on a scheduled work day.
  • Absences for jury duty, attendance as a witness, or military leave in any week in which you have performed any work.
  • Any other deductions prohibited by state or federal law.

Please note: You will be required to use accrued paid time off for full or partial day absences for personal reasons, sickness or disability. Your salary will be reduced for full or partial day absences if you have exceeded the limits of the paid time banks that are available to you and you do not have accrued paid time off left in any applicable bank.

If you have questions about deductions from your pay, please contact the Office of People and Culture immediately. If you believe your wages have been subject to any improper deductions or your pay does not accurately reflect all hours worked, you should report your concerns to a supervisor immediately. If a supervisor is unavailable or if you believe it would be inappropriate to contact that person (or if you have not received a prompt and fully acceptable reply within three business days), you should immediately contact a senior person in the Office of People and Culture at 651.638.6119.

Should it be determined that your salary has been improperly reduced, Bethel will correct the underpayment as quickly as possible.