Employee Handbook

Policy 210  

Responsible Department: Office of Human Resources
Responsible Administrator: Chief Human Resources Officer
Effective Date: June 2020
Reviewed/Updated Date: March 2021
Date of Scheduled Review: March 2025

I. PURPOSE

To establish the hours of employment in ACU’s normal workday and workweek and to establish pay periods and paydays to administer the payment of wages, salaries and overtime.

II. SCOPE

This policy applies to all employees at the university.

III. POLICY

1. Hours of Work. The average workweek is 40 hours. The University’s workweek is Sunday through Saturday. The standard workday is Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., which includes one hour for lunch. However, various shifts may be arranged. Offices are expected to open to the public no later than 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. and close to the public no earlier than 4:00 and 5:00 p.m.

Travel Time as Hours of Work. Certain travel time may be considered hours worked while others may not. Non-Exempt employees who travel should use the Travel Time Fact Sheet as a guideline in completing their timesheet. As with overtime or any other time worked outside a non-exempt employee’s regular schedule, the supervisor must pre-approve travel time.

2. Break Time. Each employee is allotted two paid 15-minute break periods based on workload needs as designated by the supervisor. Break time is considered working time.

3. Daily Assemblies Chapel. Staff are expected to attend Monday Chapel during the school week. Departments that feel unable to close operations should seek the approval of the VP of their division. Faculty attendance expectations are addressed in the Faculty Handbook.

4. Pay Days. All University employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule. Pay dates are on Fridays unless the date falls on a bank holiday; in this case, those paychecks will be delivered on the previous Thursday. A complete list of paydays can be found on the Human Resources website.

Non-Exempt Staff: Work performed from Sunday through Saturday, a calendar week, is used to determine if overtime is due and will be paid if hours worked during this period exceed 40 hours. Overtime compensation earned in a particular workweek will be paid on the regular payday for the period in which such work occurred.

Faculty and Exempt Staff. Faculty and exempt staff are exempt from overtime provisions and are paid on a bi-weekly schedule.

5. Automatic Bank Deposit. ACU’s preferred method of compensation payment to employees is by Direct Deposit. This program allows deposit into one or two accounts, to either or both a checking and/or savings account. The form for enrollment may be obtained in the Human Resources Office, Administration Building, Room 213.

6. Employee Vs. Independent Contractor. This worksheet is to be used by an ACU department or employee to determine whether a worker is most likely an employee or an independent contractor. Under the common law test, a worker is an employee if the purchaser of that worker’s service has the right to direct or control the worker, both as to the final results and as to the details of when, where, and how the work is done. Control does not have to be exercised; rather, if the service recipient has the right to control, employment may be shown.

Policy No. 211
Responsible Department: Office of Human Resources
Responsible Administrator: Chief Human Resources Officer
Effective Date: October 1995
Review/Updated: March 2021
Date of Scheduled Review: March 2025

OVERTIME: NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES

PURPOSE
To provide guidelines to administer overtime pay to comply with applicable federal wage and hour regulations.

SCOPE
This policy applies to non-exempt employees at ACU.

POLICY
Non-exempt activity is customarily performed according to a routine and has a set of standards or rules that does not require the exercise of discretion and independent judgment. Employees whose positions do not meet the Fair Labor Standards Act exemption tests and who are paid one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in one week are considered non-exempt. A week is defined as Sunday through Saturday.

ACU’s overtime pay policy conforms to overtime provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.  Exemption from these provisions will be claimed for an employee only when it can clearly be established that the employee’s duties and responsibilities meet the requirements for such exemption. (See Policy No. 110, Exempt/Non-Exempt Employee Status.)

Overtime pay policy for employees includes the following principal elements:

1. Non-exempt employees will be paid straight time for all hours worked through forty (40) in one week, Sunday through Saturday.
2. Non-exempt employees will be paid at their regular hourly rate for all hours worked (including those over 40). For any hours that exceed forty (40) in a Sunday through Saturday workweek, the employee will receive pay equal to ½ their regular rate of pay for each hour over forty (40). Only hours actually worked will be used to calculate overtime pay. Paid time off for holidays, jury duty, vacation, sick leave or any leave of absence will not be considered “hours worked.”
3. Overtime worked by non-exempt employees must be authorized in advance by the employee’s supervisor. All hours worked must be recorded.
4. Compensating time off in lieu of overtime payments will not be granted. The “banking” of overtime as compensation time is a Fair Labor Standards Act violation for non-profit agencies. Compensation time cannot be given any time after the employee has already worked forty (40) plus hours in a scheduled workweek. When forty (40) plus hours of work has been completed, overtime must be paid.

Policy No. 212

Responsible Department: Office of Human Resources
Responsible Administrator: Chief Human Resources Officer
Effective Date: January 1, 1994
Reviewed Date: May 2016
Date of Scheduled Review: May 2019

NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES WORKING IN TWO DEPARTMENTS

PURPOSE
To establish guidelines for non-exempt employees whose full-time equivalency is divided between two departments.

SCOPE
This policy applies to non-exempt employees at ACU.

POLICY
In some cases a non-exempt employee’s full-time equivalency may be divided between two departments.  If the employee works more than forty (40) hours in one work week, Sunday through Saturday, the employee will be paid time-and-one-half for hours worked over forty (40).  The department in which the forty-first (41) hours occurs, will be the department charged for the overtime pay.

Policy No. 213

Responsible Department:  Office of Human Resources
Responsible Administrator:  Chief Human Resources Officer
Effective Date:  January 1994
Reviewed Date:  May 2016
Date of Scheduled Review:  May 2019

ALTERNATIVE WORK SCHEDULES

PURPOSE
To establish guidelines and pay practices to administer alternative work schedules which meet the university’s need for 24-hour coverage with a minimum number of employees.

SCOPE
This policy applies to non-exempt employees in any department whose normal hours of operation do not conform to the normal 8 a.m.-5 p.m. workday.

POLICY
To meet university needs, employees in designated jobs will observe work schedules which differ from the university’s normal work schedule of five consecutive days per week, eight hours per day. Employees in non-exempt positions will be paid time-and-one-half for hours worked beyond forty (40) in one week, Sunday through Saturday, according to federal law.  For additional guidance regarding the university’s overtime pay policies, see Policy No. 110, Exempt/Non-Exempt Employee Status, Policy No. 211, Overtime: Non-Exempt Employees.