3.01 Hours of Work

Policy 3.01

Policy: It is the policy of Berklee to comply with all federal, state, and local laws governing the work week, daily rest and meal periods, and payment of hours worked for exempt and non-exempt staff members.

Definitions

Work week: The Berklee work week commences at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and ends at 12:00 a.m. on Friday. Staff schedules must be arranged to meet departmental needs and are determined by the department manager.

Work schedule: A standard work week for full-time staff members will consist of five eight-hour workdays. This consecutive eight-hour period will include a one-hour unpaid lunch period. This lunch period must be uninterrupted, continuous time. Total paid hours will equal 35 per week. Federal and state law requires at least a 30-minute meal period for staff members who work more than six hours in a day.

FTE: A full-time employee (FTE) is any staff member with a consistent work schedule of 30 hours or more in a work week.

Exempt: Exempt staff members are paid a predetermined salary for the results they are expected to achieve, regardless of the number of hours they work. Exempt staff members are expected to work the number of hours budgeted for their position. Exempt staff members do not receive overtime or additional pay for hours worked or travel time.

Non-exempt: Non-exempt staff members are paid hourly and expected to work their full daily schedule unless otherwise approved by their manager. Non-exempt staff members shall receive overtime pay for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in one week.

Schedule Changes

Work schedules may be adjusted to meet the operational needs of the department. Such schedule changes should be communicated to affected staff members as soon as practical and, in most circumstances, with a minimum of 30 days notice.

Procedures for Non-Exempt Staff

Staff members are paid for the work performed as regulated under applicable state and federal laws. Staff members are expected to report to work at the start of their scheduled work day. All staff members are expected to be at their desk or workstation, and ready to begin work at the beginning of their scheduled work day.

Overtime: Hourly paid staff members who work more than 40 hours during the work week must be paid one-and-a-half times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40. Staff members may not work overtime unless specifically requested to do so by their managers; however, non-exempt staff members must be paid for all hours of work. Staff members who do not adhere to departmental procedures for preapproval of overtime may be subject to corrective action.
Differential pay: Some departments that schedule hourly paid staff members on night or weekend shifts pay a shift differential. Hourly paid staff in positions that are eligible for differentials will receive differential pay for overnight shifts worked between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
On call: Some departments provide on-call compensation if they require hourly paid staff to be available during a specified period other than their regular shift. Non-exempt staff who are on call will receive a half-day’s pay for keeping their phone on and responding to problem reports. Non-exempt staff that must come in to Berklee to resolve problems will be paid for a full day, regardless of how much time is actually spent on the problem. If the time that they actually work (as opposed to being on call) exceeds 40 hours for the work week, they will be paid time and a half for all hours actually worked in excess of 40.

Note: holidays observed by Berklee and PTO time are not considered hours worked for the purpose of calculating overtime.

Training conference time: Attendance at conferences, meetings, training programs, seminars, or similar activities must be counted as hours worked when the training is related to the staff member's job. Prior to attending such programs, staff members should obtain managerial approval.
Travel time: Traveling to and from work is not considered work time, but all travel after the beginning and before the close of the work day is considered working time.

Time Reporting for Non-Exempt Staff

Each department is responsible for maintaining accurate time and attendance records. For each non-exempt staff member, a time record must be completed in Workday for each work week. The time record must reflect the total scheduled hours, excluding the unpaid lunch, and should include hours actually worked each day as well as holiday time or PTO days approved and taken.

Exempt staff must be paid their full salary. No deductions shall be taken from exempt staff pay without prior consultation with Human Resources.

Exempt staff should report time away from work in half-day increments based on their regular work schedule by recording PTO time. If they worked at least half of their regularly scheduled hours, they will be paid their full regular day’s pay.

Example:

A. If an exempt staff member is scheduled to work from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the staff member leaves at 10:30 a.m. due to illness, they must enter four hours of regular time and four hours of PTO time.

B. If an exempt staff member is scheduled to work from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the staff member leaves at 3:00 p.m. due to a pre-scheduled appointment, they would be paid regular pay.

If an exempt staff member has exhausted their PTO time, please contact Human Resources for consultation.

Any weekly paid exempt staff member reporting less then their regularly scheduled hours must be on an approved leave of absence coordinated through Human Resources.

Time Reporting

All staff members are responsible for accurately recording their time each week. The staff member’s manager is responsible for verifying and approving hours. Falsification of a time record can result in termination of employment.

Alternative Work Arrangements

In certain circumstances, an employee may request alternate work arrangements, which may include job sharing or working remotely for a portion of the scheduled work day or work week. Alternative work arrangements must be based on the requirements of the position and the needs of the department and of Berklee. Requests for alternative work arrangements must be made in writing and submitted to the department manager. All requests require review and approval by the staff member’s manager and area vice president. In addition, consultation with Human Resources is necessary as a telecommuting agreement must be put in place if the request is approved.

Berklee reserves the right to amend, suspend, or cancel this policy at any time, with or without notice. Employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement will be governed by the terms and conditions of the current contract.

December 2018