Work Schedules and Hours for Non-Exempt Employees

Scope

This policy applies to all for Support, Service, Professional Staff Eligible for Overtime, and Temporary Employees.

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Policy Statement

Work Schedules and Hours

1. The workweek for all campuses and departments officially begins and ends at 12:00 midnight on Saturday.
2. A full-time work schedule normally consists of five, eight-hour days and 40 hours each workweek.
   1. If operational needs require, a department may establish on a regular, on-going basis, a full-time work schedule in which the hours of work are not the same for each workweek of the pay period.  In such schedules, hours covered by the Overtime Pay policy are compensated at an overtime rate.
   2. Schedules different than 40 hours per week are to be approved by the campus Human Resources office with written notification to Payroll.
3. Departments establish hours of operation, reporting and departing times.
4. Departments may allow alternate or flexible work schedules that support operational needs. (See Alternative Work Schedules.)
   1. Any change in a Staff employee’s work schedule requires advance approval of the supervisor.
   2. Note that if a change in a Staff employee's work schedule requires the employee to work on a scheduled day off, the employee may be eligible for additional pay as provided by the Changes in Work Schedule provision within the Premium Pay policy.
   3. Advance notification of a change in a Temporary employee's work schedule--or notification of a lack of work--is encouraged, although not required. Employees do not receive pay for cancelled work, and no payment other than the regular hourly rate is received for rescheduled workdays or starting times.
5. Employees should not be scheduled to work on a regular basis on more than six days of the week.
6. Every effort will be made not to schedule an employee for more than 16 consecutive hours.

Recordkeeping

1. Weekly work schedules shall be documented and maintained with other payroll-related records within the department.
2. It is each employee’s responsibility to accurately record all hours worked on the university-provided timekeeping device or form. This includes work conducted for the University remotely, whether at an offsite location or via electronic device; work that is de minimis need not be recorded.  
3. Each employee must submit the recorded time to his or her supervisor for approval. The supervisor is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the time submitted.
4. It is each department’s responsibility to maintain a record of all hours worked.

Shift Preference

1. Shift preference for job openings having identical duties and responsibilities is given in order of occupational unit seniority. This is not applicable in units where the practice is to rotate shift assignments on a regular basis.
   
   1. For CWA covered Support Staff employees shift preference is given in order of university seniority.
   2. For AFSCME Service covered employees, once shift preference has been exercised for a given job vacancy, the employee must wait until another job vacancy occurs to again exercise his or her shift preference based on his or her occupational unit seniority.
   3. For AFSCME Police covered positions, in the event that a campus department utilizes a shift bid process, the following must occur:
      1. The shift bid process will take place at least annually.
      2. The shift bid results must be provided to employees at least 60 days prior to the shift effective dates.
      3. The shift bid priority is based on occupational unit seniority (which includes occupational seniority of transferred employees).

Rest Periods for Support, Service, and Temporary employees

1. Efforts will be made to permit employees to take rest periods
   1. Reasonable breaks are normally 15 minutes during each half day of work.
      1. For AFSCME Police and AFSCME Service covered employees, this includes during overtime periods, if possible.
2. For employees required to work in adverse conditions, i.e., extreme heat or cold or noxious fumes, it may be advisable to schedule additional break periods. Such a decision is a matter within the discretion of the supervisor on the scene.
3. Time allowed for rest periods is not cumulative, is not intended to cover late arrival or early departure, nor can it be saved for later use.
4. Breaks should be scheduled so that the efficiency of the work unit does not suffer. This can be accomplished by staggering the times for rest periods so that all employees in the department or within the work group are not taking a break at the same time.

Meal Breaks

1. For AFSCME Police covered employees, an officer who works more than six consecutive hours will receive a paid meal break that is built into the shift.  Police Service employees are expected to be available at all times during the meal break.
2. For all other Support, Service, Overtime Eligible Professional Staff and Temporary employees, they should not be required to work more than six consecutive hours without a minimum of a one-half hour lunch period free from the job, unless mutually agreed to by the employee and the supervisor, see 3 below for further information.
   1. AFSCME Service covered employees receive one-half hour off for lunch each day, unless a department has established a different schedule.  The University will provide an appropriate place for employees to eat their lunches.
   2. CWA Support Staff; and Non-Union Support, Service and Overtime Eligible Professional Staff covered employees, receive one hour off for lunch each day, unless a department has established a different schedule.
3. By mutual agreement between the employee and the supervisor, an employee can work more than six consecutive hours without an unpaid lunch break of 30 minutes or more, either as an occasional adjustment to the work schedule or on a regular basis as part of an alternative or flexible work schedule.  In these situations, every effort should be made to provide the employee a fifteen (15) minute rest period. See the Alternative Work Schedules Policy for more information.  

On-campus meeting attendance for AFSCME Service
It occasionally becomes necessary for employees whose normal shift begins between 4:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. to attend University-related meetings during the day. When the presence of an employee is required at a University-related meeting during the hours that the employee is normally scheduled off, the time actually spent in such meetings shall be compensated with supervisory approval, with compensatory time off. Such compensatory time shall be scheduled, if practical, by late arrival or early departure on the shift immediately preceding or immediately following the meeting. It is the department’s decision to pay or grant the time off.

Off-campus work and travel time:

1. When departments require a Staff employee to perform a work assignment off campus or outside normal work hours, departments should adhere to the provisions below when determining the employee’s eligibility for pay.
   1. Work-related assignments such as attending a class, conference, meeting, etc. apply. See 2. below.
   2. Travel time during normal work hours is work time. 
   3. Travel time during hours that are normal work hours during the week but which occurs on a day normally scheduled off is work time.
   4. Driving that the employee is required to perform is always work time.
   5. Work performed while traveling is always work time.  
   6. Special Provisions:
      1. For AFSCME Police, AFSCME Service, and CWA Support Staff, travel time in excess of the time required to travel from the employee's residence to his/her normal work station, provided it is outside of the normal daily work schedule, should be considered as hours worked.
      2. Non-Union Support and Service, and Overtime Eligible Professional Staff covered employees; and Temporary employees, when a Staff employee who regularly works in one city is given a special one-day assignment in another city and returns home the same day, the time spent traveling to and returning from the other city in excess of the time the employee would normally spend commuting to the regular work site is work time.
   7. Any break in such travel time for meals is not compensable and should be subtracted out of the hours worked.
   8. If such travel should require overnight lodging, the time that the employee is free to "come and go" as s/he pleases including attending voluntary social events presented as part of the conference, is not considered as time worked.
   9. Home/Work Travel: An employee who travels from home before the regular workday and returns to his/her home at the end of the workday is engaged in ordinary commuting, which is not work time.
   10. Travel time not covered above is not work time.
2. Approved attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities is work time if one or more of the following occur:
   1. Attendance is during normal work hours.
   2. Attendance is required by the university.
   3. The event is work related.
   4. University work is performed.
3. Employees can obtain current information concerning reimbursement entitlements and procedures from the departmental account manager or Travel Management Services.

Uniform change time

1. Employees who are required to wear uniforms, but who are not permitted to wear uniforms to and from work, are allowed ten minutes in the scheduled work period for changing into and out of uniforms.

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Reason for Policy

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, and record-keeping standards for the United States. Indiana University supplements the Act with policies on matters that are not covered in the FLSA, such as certain work hour rules, rest periods and lunch breaks. The purpose of this policy is to describe both the FLSA and University rules and regulations on these topics.

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Sanctions

Managers, supervisors, and employees who violate this policy are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

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History

July 2019
Updates made to CWA procedures based on union discussions.

Replaces the following policies:

Replaces parts of the following policies:

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