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Human Resources

Handbook

Compensation/Pay Practices

Breaks/Rest Periods

Rest periods are intended to give staff members a chance to renew their attention and energy after working for an extensive period so that they can remain productive and efficient in performing assigned tasks.

Supervisors are encouraged to schedule a paid 15-minute break approximately halfway through each four-hour work period. However, some jobs do not require or lend themselves to scheduling breaks since work can be accomplished in a flexible manner. Occasionally, operating requirements of the departments may require supervisors to temporarily suspend scheduled breaks.

In most cases, the University provides the opportunity for a meal break of no less than 30 minutes for shifts of more than seven hours. The actual time and length of the meal period will be scheduled by the supervisor. Meal periods are considered personal time, and staff are encouraged to leave the immediate work area in order to eat and relax. Time spent during the meal period is not considered work time for pay purposes.

Categories of Employment

Jobs at the University are categorized for purposes of salary and benefits administration and to generate information and reports on particular job groups and job responsibilities. Jobs are categorized as either "exempt" or "non-exempt" based on regulations established by the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act establishes minimum wage and salary criteria and defines whether or not a job is entitled to overtime compensation.

If a position is categorized non-exempt, pay is calculated on an hourly basis. Non-exempt positions are entitled to overtime pay, calculated at one and one-half times the regular hourly rate for all hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.

Exempt jobs are those which are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Staff in exempt jobs are paid a fixed salary for all hours worked. Exempt staff members are not entitled to overtime pay.

A staff member may be employed in a full-time regular or part-time regular capacity under either of the employment categories.

  • Full-time regular jobs are those requiring a regular work schedule of 64 or more hours per pay period for a non-exempt or a 0.8 FTE for exempt.
  • Part-time regular jobs are those requiring a regular work schedule of fewer than 64 hours per pay period for non- exempt or less than a 0.8 FTE for exempt.

Please direct any questions regarding job classification or exemption status to the compensation office of human resources.

Compensatory Time ("Comp Time")

Employees who are non-exempt and required to work extra hours on a given workday may be permitted or required to take an equal number of hours off within the same workweek. (See work schedules.) Time off in lieu of overtime pay, taken within the same workweek, must have the advance approval of the employee's supervisor.

Salaried staff members are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Exempt positions may enjoy greater scheduling flexibility than is true for hourly-paid positions, but compensatory time for hours worked beyond 40 in a week is not permitted.

Garnishments

If served with a legal instrument for the collection of an employee's debt, the University will withhold the appropriate amount prescribed by law until the debt is paid in full. Employees should make every effort not to involve the University in their personal affairs. Confidential, free counseling through the employee assistance program is available.

Job Classification

Pay is determined, in part, by the classification and pay grade assignment of the position occupied by a staff member.

Job classification results from the analysis of a position based on "compensable factors" such as skills required to perform a job; effort and responsibility level; and working conditions. These factors relate to the requirements of the job, not to the credentials or performance level of the person in the position.

Jobs evaluated at similar levels in terms of these "compensable factors" are assigned to the same pay grade.

Job Reclassification

Duties and responsibilities assigned to positions may change significantly over time. When this occurs, the supervisor should initiate a reclassification review through the compensation and office of human resources. This review, as with the initial job classification, requires preparation of a "Position Analysis Booklet" (PAB) available on the human resources compensation Web site under forms at
(http://www.slu.edu/services/HR/compensation_forms.html). The job will again undergo evaluation based on "compensable factors." If the job has changed in a substantive way, the title and grade will be changed to reflect the new duties.

Overtime Pay Procedures

Projects and priorities may require extra work beyond normal working hours. Supervisors determine when overtime is necessary and must authorize any overtime work in advance of the work being performed.

The department supervisor will attempt to provide reasonable notice when the need for overtime work arises. However, advance notice may not always be possible.

Non-exempt staff members receive compensation for hours worked and authorized overtime work as follows:

  1. straight time (i.e., regular hourly rate of pay) for all hours worked up to 40 hours in any given work week;
  2. one and one-half times the regular hourly rate of pay for all hours worked beyond 40 hours in any given work week.

Any paid leave hours, including holiday, vacation, and sick hours, are not considered hours worked and are not included in the overtime calculation.

Pay Programs

The University's pay programs establish pay ranges for each job evaluated in the classification system. A pay range reflects the overall value of the job to the University based on the "compensable factors" and local, regional and national salary survey information collected annually. That information, along with University recruitment and retention experiences, establishes the pay ranges for the University's classified jobs.

The job evaluation and pay grade system is used consistently throughout the University. Performance-based increases are determined each year for staff members based on salary increase guidelines. All staff members must be paid at least the minimum of the pay grade to which their position is assigned. (Please refer to the salary schedule at http://www.slu.edu/services/HR/compensation_salaryschedule.html, and the staff classification and compensation policy at www.slu.edu/services/HR/policies_stfclass.html for additional information.)

Paycheck Deductions

Staff members may elect to have paycheck deductions for many purposes including, but not limited to, insurance contributions, retirement annuity contributions, wellness and recreation memberships, University-sponsored donations to such organizations as the United Way Campaign, and purchase of U.S. Savings Bonds.

The University may deduct amounts for obligations owed to the University such as unpaid fines, personal checks returned for insufficient funds and legally imposed levies and garnishments made against the employee's salary. Questions about garnishments and levies should be directed to the payroll office or the employee relations office of human resources.

The dollar amount and type of any paycheck deduction will be listed online in the employee's records in Banner Self Service at https://fsselfserv.slu.edu

Paychecks/Paydays

Non-exempt staff members of the University are paid on alternate Fridays. If a normal payday is a holiday, payday may be the preceding workday. Exempt staff members are paid on a monthly basis, on the last working day of the month.

Federal income tax, social security (OASDI) and Medicare, state and local taxes, deductions for various benefit options, and any other itemized deductions are shown in Banner Self Service at https://fsselfserv.slu.edu

Vacation and sick leave hours accumulated, as recorded in the human resources system, are also shown. Leave balances for monthly paid staff members do not reflect leave time used in the most recent pay period. This usage will be deducted from available balances during the next payroll cycle.

Direct deposit offers convenience and security of funds. Employees are strongly encouraged to have paychecks deposited directly to their personal bank accounts. Paychecks will be mailed to the home address of any employee who does not have direct deposit. Lost or stolen paychecks should be reported to the payroll office. If a check or direct deposit is not received, the staff member should notify his/her supervisor, who in turn will notify the departmental timekeeper. The timekeeper will work with the payroll office to resolve the issue.

Tax Withholding

The University is required to withhold tax and to report taxable income according to the requirements of federal, state, and local government agencies and the Social Security Administration. All staff members are required to complete appropriate tax information forms prior to inclusion in the payroll system. Revised tax forms are required whenever the employee's tax status, geographical location of employment or number of allowable exemptions changes. Forms are available in the payroll and human resources offices in Salus Center (3545 Lafayette) as well as online through Banner Self Service at https://fsselfserv.slu.edu

Current and year-to-date tax totals are shown in Banner Self Service, and calendar year totals are provided on Form W-2 in January of the subsequent year. Contact the payroll office for additional information.

Time Records (Recording Work Hours)

It is the policy of the University to comply with applicable laws that require records to be maintained of the hours worked by our employees. To ensure that accurate records are kept of the hours actually worked (including overtime hours where applicable) and of the accrued leave time taken, and to ensure payment in a timely manner. Non-exempt (hourly paid) employees are responsible for daily time entry via Banner Self Service, entering time-in and time-out on their personal time sheets. Exempt (salaried) employees who accrue leave time are also responsible for recording daily exception time (such as vacation, or sick time) on their personal electronic time sheets via Banner Self-Service. In both instances, designated approvers are responsible for forwarding time sheets to Payroll via the web.

Contracted faculty, student assistants, and others who do not accrue leave will have their continued eligibility approved by departmental timekeepers in Internet Native Banner (INB) via the web. Other designated departments will utilize time clocks to feed summaries directly into the web.

Actual hours worked and leave time taken must be recorded accurately. Falsification of time worked or leave time taken by an employee or his/her supervisor is a breach of University policy and is grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

Unemployment Compensation

Most University employees are covered by the State Employment Security Law. Under the provisions of this law, employees of the University who become totally or partially unemployed and who meet the eligibility requirements as set forth in the law may receive unemployment compensation.

Work Schedules

Work hours and schedules vary throughout the University depending upon the services provided. As part of orientation, staff and supervisors should discuss the normal work schedule requirements.

Supervisors are responsible for establishing and informing staff of specific work schedules, including start times, break times, lunch schedules and normal ending times. When the work schedule must be changed, supervisors will give as much advance notice as possible so staff members can make personal arrangements to meet the new scheduling requirements.

The operating requirements of the department must be the primary consideration in establishing work schedules and requiring overtime.

For purposes of pay computation, the official University workweek begins at 12:01 a.m. Sunday and ends at midnight Saturday, regardless of particular work schedules.


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