Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA)?
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes the federal minimum wage, overtime protections, and other employment standards affecting employees in private and public sectors. It is regulated by the Department of Labor (DOL). The FLSA creates two classifications of employees for overtime purposes;Exempt and Non-Exempt.
What is an Exempt employee?
- An Exempt employee is not covered by FLSA’s overtime protections
- An Exempt employee will not complete a timesheet; enters only leave in BANNER
What is a Non-Exempt employee?
- A Non-Exempt employee iscovered by FLSA’s overtime protections
- A Non-Exempt employee will complete a timesheet; enters hours workedand leave in BANNER
Are Extension Faculty and County Extension Agents Exempt employees?
Yes. Extension Faculty and County Extension Agents have always fallen under the educator exclusion, a special provision for educators within Higher Ed institutions; therefore, these employees are exempt from FLSA’s overtime protections and will not complete a timesheet or track hours worked.
When is an employee compensated for overtime?
If an employee accumulates over 40 hours in a single workweek(Sunday through Saturday), they will earn overtime compensation. The rate of overtime compensation depends on the number of hours actually workedwithin that workweek. See examples below.
Example 1:
- Oliver works 8 hours Monday through Thursday; he also works 10 hours on Friday
- He accumulated 42 hours for the workweek
- Because he actually worked over 40 hours, the compensation rate for the extra 2 hours will be at time and a half (Hourly rate X 1.5)
Example 2:
- Carrie worked 8 hours on Monday through Wednesday, took 8 hours of sick leave on Thursday, and worked 10 hours on Friday
- She accumulated 42 hours for the workweek, but only worked 34 hours (8 hours were sick leave)
- The compensation rate for the extra 2 hours will be at straight time, i.e. her current hourly wage
How is an employee compensated for overtime?
Extension follows Division policy P.M.G.S. 97-4 and will use compensation time (Comp Time)as the preferred method of payment. Important Note: Extension employees who are 50% or more grant-funded, will be paid overtime in cash as it is earned.
Can an employee work overtime without supervisor approval?
The use of overtime must be approved in advance by the supervisor before the hours are worked. Supervisors must use the electronic Overtime Authorization Formto document this pre-approval. Once submitted, the Overtime Authorization Form will be emailed to the supervisor completing the form and to the selected employee for their records.
If emergency situations arise and overtime is deemed necessary for business purposes, approval must be documented by the supervisor through the Overtime AuthorizationForm at the soonest possible time, orminimallybefore leave and hours worked are due in BANNER. Employees who work without documented approval may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. A report of all overtime authorizations will be reviewed by Extension’s Executive Team on a quarterly basis.
What shouldan employee authorized for overtime do with the approval email?
Employeewho do not enter their own time/leave into BANNER must forward the emailed approval to their designated departmental time entry person by the end of the reporting period.Employees who do enter their own time/leave into BANNER will copy and paste the email into the Comments box in BANNER for supervisor review.
What is considered work/not work for Non-Exempt employees?
Work:
- Use of electronic devices to do Extension work outside work hours, i.e. cell phones, iPad’s, e-mail
- Travel time during the normal work hours
- Traveling outside work hours, if driving
- Travel time during the employee’s normal work hours on a Saturday or Sunday, if an overnight stay is involved
- Attendance at approved work-related meetings
- Rest periods or breaks of short duration during regular business hours
Not Work:
- Meal time as long as the employee is completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating
- Travel outside of regular work hours if riding as a passenger via plane, train, boat, bus or automobile
- Sleeping if during overnight travel
- Normal commuting time to and from work
What should I do with my timesheet after it has been signed?
Completed and signed timesheets should be kept in your local office or department for 3 years. Timesheets are not submitted to payroll. Timesheets should not be kept in a locked cabinet, as they must be accessible to the Civil Rights Compliance Officer for audit purposes.
What is “trading out” time?
Whenever possible, supervisors should limit their employees’ hours to 40 within a single workweek (Sunday through Saturday). If that’s not possible for business purposes, it is Extension’s preference that the employee’s hours be traded out sometime within the same workweek.
For example: Jeff is required to attend an evening work event and works 2 additional hours on Tuesday night. In order to prevent the accumulation of overtime, Jeff’s supervisor can allow him to come in at 10:00am or leave at 2:30pm on a later day withinthe same workweek(Extension’s regular work hours are 8:00am to 4:30pm.)
Trading out time before anticipated extra hours are worked is allowed but not preferred, as events can be cancelled and business needs can frequently change throughout the workweek. If your employee works less than 40 hours in a week, contact payroll for details.
Should “trading out” time be documented?
Trading out time should be arranged by the supervisor and employee through verbal communication. No written authorization is required, but an email confirming the arrangement would be advisable. Trade out arrangements should be strictly for the benefit of the organization and not for the employee’s convenience. Hours worked should be reported exactly as they are taken on the timesheet.
For more questions, contact Genean Riddick in Financial Services at or 501-671-2173.