MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
I.
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
PURPOSE
This policy is to advise employees that Morehouse School of Medicine (“MSM”) complies with and compensates employees consistently with the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The sole purpose of this policy is to summarize MSM's approach to the FLSA's overtime requirements. II.
APPLICABILITY
This policy applies to all non-exempt staff whose employment status is regular full-time, regular part-time or regular temporary. III.
POLICY
MSM treats non-exempt staff members as being subject to the overtime pay provisions of the FLSA and compensates them consistently with that law's overtime requirements for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek, including all overtime hours worked on and off work premises. It is the responsibility of supervisors/managers to plan and schedule work so it can be performed within the regularly scheduled hours. Therefore, non-exempt employees may not be permitted to perform overtime work except when the supervisor/manager concludes that this is absolutely necessary. Employees are expected to perform overtime assignments when required and must receive prior authorization from their supervisor/manager in order to work any overtime. IV.
DEFINITIONS A.
Workday is defined as a 24-hour period that commences at 12:00 a.m. and concludes at 11:59 p.m. the following night.
B.
Workweek is defined as seven consecutive twenty-four hour periods commencing Sunday morning at 12:00 a.m. and concluding at 11:59 p.m. the following Saturday.
C.
Pay Period is defined as biweekly.
D.
Overtime Hours are defined as hours worked by a non-exempt employee in excess of forty hours in a workweek.
E.
Exempt employees do not track, earn or receive overtime compensation for extra hours worked. These employees are paid a salary for performing the whole job Page 1
MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
and not for actual hours worked. F. V.
Non-Exempt refers to employees designated by MSM as being subject to the FLSA's overtime requirements.
GUIDELINES A.
B.
Approval of Overtime 1.
Overtime work by a non-exempt employee must be approved in advance by the appropriate supervisor/manager.
2.
It is the supervisor/manager's responsibility to ensure that overtime work is not performed when it has not been approved. This includes work away from the work site or at home.
3.
Overtime worked by a non-exempt employee, but not approved in advance, must still be accurately recorded and properly paid for in accordance with the FLSA. However, non-exempt employees working unapproved overtime could be subject to corrective action up to and including termination. Any non-exempt employee who performs unapproved overtime work but fails to record his/her time may be subject to corrective action up to and including termination of employment.
4.
The supervisor/manager may require employees to work overtime based on his/her judgments about business needs. The supervisor/manager will attempt to provide affected employees with as much notice time as is practicable under the circumstances and assign overtime work as fairly and consistently as is practicable under the circumstances given the nature of the work to be performed, employee capacities, and any other relevant considerations.
5.
Refusal to work overtime could result in corrective action up to and including termination of employment.
Payment of Overtime 1.
On each payday, non-exempt employees shall be paid consistently with the FLSA for overtime hours worked in the workweeks ending in the corresponding pay period. Non-exempt employees may not receive Page 2
MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
compensatory (“comp”) time off in lieu of payment of overtime under any circumstances.
C.
2.
Time off from work, such as vacation, holidays, school closings and sick days, is not counted as hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime, even if such time off is paid time off.
3.
Each non-exempt employee who is eligible for a meal break is expected to take a full, duty-free, one-hour meal period each workday. He or she must record the times at which the meal period begins and ends daily. If the meal period is interrupted by work, the employee must enter the times at which the interruption started and ended and must clearly show how much uninterrupted meal time was taken. MSM will then know how much work time was devoted to the interruption and can ensure that the employee is properly paid under its policies. Should an employee frequently fail to take the full, duty-free meal period, he or she can expect MSM to look into why this is the case.
4.
A non-exempt employee is responsible, on a daily basis, for accurately and honestly recording hours worked on the time record provided by MSM and in accordance with MSM’s timekeeping policies. This is necessary to assure that non-exempt employees are paid for all hours worked. Non-exempt employees will only be paid for time keyed into the Time & Attendance system. Failure to record time properly may result in a delay in payment of wages to the employee, and may result in disciplinary action.
5.
Supervisory/managerial personnel are responsible for reviewing, approving, and ensuring the accuracy of non-exempt employees' time records at the conclusion of each pay period. Supervisors/managers who fail to approve time records each pay period or who fail to prevent nonexempt employees from performing unapproved overtime work may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and, including termination.
On-Call Time 1.
A non-exempt staff employee who is required to remain on-call on MSM premises is working while “on-call” and must be compensated for the “on-call” time. A non-exempt employee who is required to remain on-call during “off-duty” periods when the employee is away from MSM premises Page 3
MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
and generally free to engage in personal activities is not working while on-call and may not need to be compensated for the “on-call” time, but will be compensated for any time spent doing work pursuant to a call. A pattern of frequent calls to a non-exempt employee during “on-call” periods spent away from MSM premises or additional constraints on the employee’s freedom during such periods could require this time to be compensated. VI.
TRAVEL GUIDELINES FOR NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES A.
B.
TRAVEL TIME IN GENERAL 1.
Whether travel time is counted as compensable hours worked for wagepayment and overtime-calculation purposes will depend on the particular circumstances of the travel. The treatment of travel time as compensable working time in various situations is discussed below. If questions arise about the compensability of travel time in particular situations not discussed in this policy, please consult the Human Resources Department.
2.
If a non-exempt employee travels on an out-of-town trip by airplane, train, or bus, the time spent at the airport, train station, or bus terminal is included in the concept of “travel time.”
ORDINARY HOME-TO-WORK TRAVEL 1.
Time spent in commuting between a non-exempt employee’s home and the employee’s regular place of work is not considered working time and is not eligible for compensation.
2.
If a non-exempt employee is directed to start the workday at a location within the metropolitan Atlanta area other than his or her regular workplace, the travel time between the employee’s home and the designated location is considered ordinary commuting time and is not eligible for compensation. Travel time between the designated location and the employee’s home at the end of the workday is similarly not eligible for compensation. However, if, during the course of the workday, the employee travels between the designated reporting location and his or her regular workplace to perform work, that travel time is compensable working time. Page 4
MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
C.
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
TRAVEL TIME OUT OF TOWN ON A SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT NOT INVOLVING AN OVERNIGHT STAY 1.
If a non-exempt employee is directed to report to a location outside the metropolitan Atlanta area on a special assignment that does not involve an overnight stay out of town, all of the travel time to and from the outof-town location is compensable working time except as set forth in the following subsections.
2.
If the employee travels to the out-of-town location by commercial transportation (airplane, train, or bus), travel time between the employee’s home and the airport, train station, or bus terminal in the metropolitan Atlanta area is not compensable working time. (In the unusual situation in which an employee must travel outside the metropolitan Atlanta area to catch a plane, train, or bus, the travel time between the employee’s home and the airport, train station, or bus terminal in another city, less the employee’s usual commuting time between home and work, will be compensable working time.)
3.
If the employee drives to the out-of-town location from his or her home, only that portion of the travel time in excess of the employee’s normal commuting time between home and the employee’s regular workplace is compensable working time.
4.
Time spent eating meals while traveling is not compensable working time unless the employee performs work (for example, a work-related conference) while eating.
5.
Travel time to an out-of-town destination for a special one-day assignment ends when the employee reaches the destination. For example, if an employee travels to Athens, Georgia to participate in a seminar at a conference center, travel time to Athens would end when the employee reaches the conference center. Travel time commences again when the employee leaves the out-of-town destination to return home.
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MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
D.
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
TRAVEL TIME ON AN OUT-OF-TOWN TRIP INVOLVING AN OVERNIGHT STAY 1.
If a non-exempt employee is directed to go on an out-of-town business trip involving an overnight stay of one or more nights, only that portion of the authorized travel time that takes place within normal work hours (defined as 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. for a 35-hour week or 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. for a 40-hour week) on any day of the week, including Saturday and Sunday, is treated as work hours, except as set forth below in the following subsections.
2.
When an employee travels between two or more time zones on any given day, the time zone associated with the point of departure on that day should be used to determine whether the travel falls within normal work hours.
3.
Travel time falling outside the employee’s normal work hours will be compensable working time only to the extent the employee actually performs work while traveling outside the employee’s normal work hours.
4.
Meal times while traveling within the employee’s normal work hours will not be compensable working time unless the employee is performing work while eating.
5.
If the employee travels by airplane, train, or bus, the time spent traveling from the employee’s home to the airport, train station, or bus terminal in the metropolitan Atlanta area and from the out-of-town hotel to the airport, train station, or bus terminal in that location is considered ordinary commuting time and is not counted as compensable working time, even if that time falls within the employee’s normal work hours.
6.
If the employee drives to the out-of-town destination from his or her home, all of the driving time, less the employee’s usual home-to-work commuting time, is ordinarily considered the performance of work and is ordinarily compensable working time, even if it falls outside the employee’s normal work hours. However, if the School has offered to provide transportation to the out-of-town location by public transportation (airplane, train, or bus) or as a passenger in an automobile but the employee asks to drive instead and is given permission to do so, the estimated travel time from the offered public-transportation or Page 6
MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
automobile-passenger option will be used in determining compensable travel time if it is less than the employee’s actual driving time.
E.
VII.
7.
Travel as a passenger in an automobile is not automatically treated as work hours. Travel as a passenger in an automobile is treated the same as all other forms of passenger travel, and compensation depends upon whether the travel time takes place within normal work hours or outside of normal work hours and whether, if the travel time takes place outside normal work hours, the employee is engaging in the performance of work (for example, reviewing reports and making work-related telephone calls) while riding as a passenger.
8.
When an employee reaches the destination city for the overnight trip, travel time ends when the employee arrives at his or her hotel (if the employee goes directly to the hotel upon arrival in the city) or at the place in the city where the employee will work (if the employee goes directly to that place upon arrival in the city).
CALCULATING AND REPORTING TRAVEL TIME 1.
Employees are responsible for accurately tracking, calculating and reporting travel time on their time sheets in accordance with this policy.
2.
Non-business-related meal periods should be deducted from all travel time.
3.
If an employee requests a specific travel itinerary or mode different from the one authorized, only the estimated travel time associated with the schedule, route, and mode of transportation authorized should be recorded in the Time & Attendance system.
COMPLAINT PROCEDURE
If you have questions about overtime pay or if your pay does not accurately reflect your hours worked including overtime, please contact your supervisor, the HR Employee Relations Manager for your department or Marsha Salter, Payroll Manager immediately. Employees may also report issues about overtime pay by contacting the toll-free MSM Compliance Helpline at (888) 756-1364. Every report will be fully investigated and MSM will make every effort to ensure that you receive Page 7
MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL
SUBJECT OVERTIME POLICY
POLICY NUMBER EFFECTIVE DATE PAGE (S) SUPERSEDES
HR 4.03 December 21, 2010 8 June 2009 June 2005 November 2001
the pay to which you are entitled. MSM will not allow any form of retaliation against individuals who make good faith reports of alleged violations of this Policy, or who cooperate in MSM’s investigation of such reports, even if the reports do not reveal any errors or wrongdoing. Retaliation is unacceptable, and any form of retaliation in violation of this Policy will result in disciplinary action, up to and including discharge. If MSM concludes that an employee has violated this Policy, corrective action will be taken, where appropriate, up to and including discharge.
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