Payroll Time Reporting for Employees Paid Bi-Weekly

Policy Summary

It is the policy of the university to pay employees for time worked in an accurate and timely manner, in accordance with applicable federal and local laws, and to maintain the required supporting documents and records. 

Employees have a duty to comply with university guidelines with respect to time and attendance. Supervisors have a duty to be familiar with those procedures as well as the basic provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covering time reporting and record keeping. This policy applies to both exempt and nonexempt bi-weekly employees under the FLSA.   

Related Regulations

• Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act 

Who is Governed by this Policy 

• Staff
• Faculty

Policy

The university uses an automated Time Reporting System (TRS) to record time worked for the purpose of: 1) collecting the data necessary to pay employees accurately and timely; 2) tracking compliance with appropriate governmental regulations; and 3) maintaining the required supporting documentation. The TRS also provides the basis to allocate an employee’s pay to multiple jobs (i.e., labor distribution).  

All biweekly employees who are not exempt from FLSA requirements (“nonexempt”) are required to use the TRS system to record their arrivals and departures from work each scheduled workday. The system also records paid and unpaid time off for nonexempt employees. 

All biweekly employees who are full time and are exempt from FLSA requirements (“exempt”) ordinarily are scheduled to be paid for eighty (80) hours per biweekly period, unless they move into an unpaid leave or disciplinary status in accordance with university policy. Exempt employees are not required to use the TRS to record their arrivals and departures from work. 

Accurate and contemporaneous reporting of nonexempt employee time and attendance is the responsibility of the employee and his/her immediate supervisor. 

Employees and/or supervisors found improperly reporting time and attendance information are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. 

Manager and Supervisor Responsibilities

• Being familiar with university policies governing hours worked, meal periods, overtime pay, and premium pay for shifts, weekends, and on call as defined in the Manager’s Toolkit and any other applicable documents, including collective bargaining agreements as appropriate  
• Ensure that nonexempt employees report all time worked by using the Time Reporting System. Employees can record start and stop times by using the telephone or other approved systems designated by their department 
• If the nonexempt employee is unable to record time due to a business or medical reason, departments may manually enter employees start and stop times in the Time Reporting System 
• Informing all employees of the importance of adhering to the university policies and departmental practices as they relate to time and attendance 
• Reviewing, approving, and reporting any paid or unpaid time off for both exempt and nonexempt employees 
• Reviewing nonexempt employee pay reports regularly and correcting any erroneous or missed entries on a timely basis 
• To ensure proper payment to all nonexempt employees by not modifying employee’s punches, cutting overtime, or deleting employee’s clocked time unless there is a valid reason or written communication by employee 
• Reviewing and approving time worked, leave time, and overtime for nonexempt employees in accordance with the Biweekly Payroll Calendar 
• In limited circumstances, reviewing, approving and sending to Payroll Services any manual time sheets for nonexempt employees no later than the "Due Date" noted on the Biweekly Payroll Calendar 
• Removing a terminated employee’s scheduled hours from the TRS if the Change in Status (CIS) form has not been processed.  Removal of hours helps avoid payment of a terminated employee beyond the last day worked.  
• Maintaining work and leave records for all full time and regular part time employees assigned to the department. 

Employee Responsibilities 

• For nonexempt employees only, reporting arrivals, departures, and authorized breaks by using the TRS on a phone or computer designated by the employee’s supervisor each workday  
• For nonexempt employees only, viewing timecard regularly and reporting discrepancies to employee’s supervisor no later than the “Due Date” noted on the Biweekly Payroll Calendar 
• Providing the employee’s supervisor with a written request for all paid and unpaid time off.  
• Adhering to university policy and departmental rules relating to time and attendance.  
• Reporting promptly any discrepancies between time worked and pay to the supervisor or Payroll Services. 

Definitions

Nonexempt employee: An individual who is not exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and is therefore entitled to overtime pay for all hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek (as well as any state overtime provisions).  Nonexempt employees must be paid on an hourly basis. 

Exempt Employee: An individual who is exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA because he or she is classified as an executive, professional, administrative or outside sales employee, and meets the specific criteria for the exemption. Certain computer professionals may also be exempt. Exempt employees must be paid on a salary basis. 

Forms

• Manual Timesheet

Related Information

• Biweekly Payroll Calendar
• Repayment of Overpaid Wages Policy  
• Manager’s Toolkit 
• GW Employee Handbook 

Contacts