CONTENTS
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that most workers receive a minimum overtime pay of 1.5 times the employee's regular pay rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in a seven day workweek. The UW calls positions that are covered by FLSA overtime regulations "overtime eligible." All hourly paid temporary and student workers are, by definition, overtime eligible. Only positions that meet certain narrowly defined criteria are exempt from the FLSA's overtime requirements. The Compensation Office is responsible for determining the overtime status for all staff positions. The Fair Labor Standards Act Overtime Coverage & Exemption web page describes the FLSA's provisions and how the Compensation Office applies them.
Each unit should have an overtime authorization process and inform overtime eligible employees that they must obtain advance supervisory approval to work more than their regular work schedule. Overtime eligible employees must be paid for all hours worked whether overtime has been approved or not. However, employees who work unauthorized overtime hours may be subject to corrective action.
Overtime eligible employees must be paid at least 1.5 times the regular hourly rate for overtime hours worked. An overtime-eligible employee who works in more than one appointment during a workweek must have the hours worked in all positions combined to calculate the total hours worked.
With the supervisor's approval, an employee may request to receive compensatory time off instead of overtime payment. However, employees cannot be required to accept compensatory time instead of receiving overtime payment. Compensatory time is accumulated at the rate of 1.5 hours of compensatory time for each overtime hour worked, unless a different, higher rate is specified in a particular employment program or collective bargaining agreement.
An overtime eligible employee who works extra hours, but not enough hours to require overtime payment at time and one half, receives straight time for the extra hours worked.
Example: A half time, overtime eligible employee works four hours five days per week, and during one week works two extra hours. The employee has not worked enough hours to require overtime payment, and the extra two hours are paid at straight time or may be taken as compensatory time at straight time.
An overtime eligible employee cannot "volunteer" to do extra work in the unit if payment would otherwise be required in order to get the work accomplished.
Some units are not funded to pay overtime. Overtime work that is needed but not funded may be offered to, but not required of an employee, contingent on the employee's willingness to accept compensatory time instead of overtime payment. Overtime accepted on a contingent basis must be documented with a Contingent Overtime Agreement.
Units that offer overtime contingent on acceptance of compensatory time must understand that compensatory time, if not used, must be paid annually (see "Compensatory Time - Annual Use/Payment Requirement” below) or upon separation from employment. It is therefore important to ensure that compensatory time balances are used before such payment is required.
| June 30 | For all classified employees (non-union and union), except for holiday compensatory time accrued at UWMC and Harborview Medical Center |
|---|---|
| September 30 | For holiday compensatory time accrued at UWMC and Harborview Medical Center |
| December 31 | For overtime eligible professional staff employees |
If use of outstanding compensatory time by the required date would create a hardship for a unit, the supervisor may contact the unit's Human Resources Operations Office to request an extension of the use/payment deadline. The supervisor should formulate a compensatory time use plan with the employee.
Professional staff in an overtime exempt position do not receive overtime payment or compensatory time. The overtime status of a professional staff position is established at the time it is created and may be reviewed if the position's duties change. The professional staff position's job code reflects its overtime eligible or overtime exempt status as follows:
Overtime provisions for contract-classified staff are established in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Overtime provisions for classified non-union staff are established in the applicable civil service rules (WAC 357-28-240 through WAC 357-28- 285). The FLSA overtime status for contract-classified and classified non-union positions is by job classification, and is displayed in the "OT Eligible" column of the University Compensation Plan (example below). The column entries are "Y" for overtime eligible positions or "N" for overtime exempt positions.
Positions that would otherwise be overtime exempt may receive overtime payment or compensatory time on a straight time bases for one of the following reasons:
If you have questions about any of the above exceptions, contact your department's Human Resources Consultant.
| Job Code |
Job Title | State Occu Category Spec |
Representative Group | Pay Table |
Pay Range |
Min Mo. Rate |
Max. Incremental Mo. Rate | OT Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7715 | ACCELERATOR TECHNICIAN 1 | SEIU Local 925 Clerical Nonsupervisory | B4 | 40 | $2689 | $3583 | Y | |
| 7011 | ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR | SEIU Local 925 Clerical Supervisory | B4 | 50 | $3410 | $4587 | N |
Overtime & FLSA
Topics