Fair Labor Standards Act Compliance, Policy No. 443

Printable PDF Board Policy 443

The technology center will comply with all aspects of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Any employee who has questions regarding overtime or believes that the FLSA is not being correctly followed should immediately report this to a district administrator.

The penalties for even inadvertent FLSA violations are severe. Any employee, regardless of position, who violates any aspect of this policy will be subject to disciplinary sanctions up to and including termination.

Employee Classification

Employees will be notified of their FLSA classification as a part of their job description, but any employee who believes that a misclassification has occurred must immediately notify his/her supervisor of the suspected error.

Exempt employees. Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime for working more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. Exempt employees generally include positions such as superintendents, directors, assistant directors, certified counselors, WED developers/ consultants, non-certified instructors, and teachers.

Non-exempt employee. Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime for working more than forty (40) hours in a work week. Non-exempt employees generally include positions such as bus drivers, custodians, maintenance employees, administrative assistants, instructional assistants, and other support personnel.

Multiple Assignments

Non-exempt employees are permitted to work multiple assignments as long as the combination of those assignments does not make it likely that the employee will work more than forty (40) hours per week. Non-exempt employees who work multiple positions at different hourly rates will be paid for authorized overtime at a blended rate.

Employment benefits for non-exempt employees will be granted based on the employee's primary position unless otherwise provided by law. The primary position is the position in which the employee works the most hours.

Exempt employees will not be employed in multiple positions if such employment would jeopardize the employee's exempt status. Exempt employees may be assigned an extra duty (coaching, activity sponsor, etc.) and receive a stipend in accordance with the terms of an extra duty contract.

Time Keeping

Employees will be assigned a method for keeping track of work hours. Each employee is responsible for the complete and accurate reporting of his/her time and must verify that the time reported is truthful to the best of the employee's knowledge and experience. An employee utilizing an alternate method of time keeping is, likewise, required to ensure that the times listed by the employee are complete and accurate and recorded to the best of the employee's knowledge and experience and is subject to the same requirements and penalties as an employee utilizing a time clock.

An employee who identifies an erroneous entry on his or her time card or record should immediately bring the error or mistaken entry to the attention of his/her supervisor  and both should insert and initial the correct entry or information on the time record

Employees must contact their supervisors if they notice an error on their time records. Falsifying time records, including under-reporting hours worked, is strictly prohibited.

Required Pre-Authorization

No employee may work overtime without prior authorization. Supervisors are required to strictly enforce the district's prohibition on working unauthorized overtime.

Paying Overtime

An employee who meets the criteria established by the FLSA as a non-exempt employee shall receive overtime compensation for hours worked over forty (40) hours per work week.

Prior Approval of Overtime Required

Except in the rare event of a bona fide emergency, overtime will not be allowed to any non-exempt support employee unless prior approval has been given, in writing or verbally, by the employee's supervisor or his/her designee. Non-exempt support employees working in excess of forty (40) hours per work week without prior written approval may be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including the possibility of dismissal.

When Hours are Not Considered Work Hours

Time periods in excess of twenty (20) minutes during which the employee is not actually performing job duties will not be included as "hours worked" if the time can effectively be used for the employee's own purpose.