FLSA Changes 2024: Manager and Supervisor FAQs

General

Changes

Under the new federal rules, if an employee’s annual salary is below the new minimum salary threshold of $43,888 annually, the employee will be considered non-exempt and therefore eligible for overtime and/or compensatory (comp) time.

Employees who are presently exempt from overtime and receive an annual full-time salary under $43,888 will now be considered unclassified and non-exempt. As a result:

These employees will become eligible for 1.5 times the hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Sick, vacation and personal time count as hours worked.
Non-exempt employees will track their hours in the university’s timekeeping system.
Their payroll schedule will switch from semi-monthly (two times a month) to bi-weekly (every two weeks) effective June 23, 2024.

What should I discuss with my employees who are becoming eligible for overtime?

Managers and supervisors may need to set new expectations and change department schedules and/or behaviors in order to manage hours worked within budgets. It is important to clearly communicate any new department standards or business processes to newly non-exempt employees. These communications should include:

Guidelines for using mobile devices outside of normal work hours to respond to calls or emails. More information on mobile devices outside of normal work hours is available below in the "Miscellaneous" section.
Expectation to seek approval for overtime. More information on overtime is available below in the "Overtime" section.
Adjustments to work schedules when work must occur outside of normal business hours. More information is available below in the "Flex Time" section.

Communicating a clearly defined overtime approval process to your non-exempt employees can assist you in managing both time and budget resources. However, while non-exempt employees should seek pre-approval before working overtime, it is important to remember that all overtime must be paid, whether pre-approved or not.

Overtime

Does an employee need to be paid for overtime if I did not approve it?

Yes. If non-exempt employees work overtime hours they must be paid, even if unapproved. That is why it is critical to establish how overtime approval will be managed and communicated to everyone in your unit. The guidance for affected employees should reiterate that employees should seek approval before working any overtime, but you can help by establishing rules in your unit for seeking approval in advance for projects or events that may be deadline-driven and require additional hours. Since more employees in your unit may now be eligible for overtime, you will need to consider this impact when planning your overtime budget.

Note that if an employee continues to work overtime without supervisory approval, then the supervisor should begin the appropriate disciplinary action with the employee and in consultation with the Employee Relations Department.

Can my employee work “off the clock” and just not claim any overtime?

When an employee works “off the clock,” it means that they are working hours that are not recorded and are unpaid. These hours would also be excluded from any overtime calculation. It is against Ohio state and federal laws for an employee to work off the clock. If you discover your employee is doing this, you need to explain to them that this is not permissible. Note that if an employee continues to work “off the clock,” then the supervisor should begin the appropriate disciplinary action with the employee and in consultation with the Employee Relations Department.

How will my non-exempt employees report overtime?

All of your employees’ work time will be recorded in TimeClock Plus so at the end of each day, employees can see what their hours are for the workweek. Overtime will be calculated when employees accrue more than 40 hours in the workweek. Keep in mind that sick, vacation, and personal leave also count towards the 40 hours in a workweek. As the supervisor, your employees' timecards need to be reviewed and approved by noon on Tuesday for the hours worked in the previous week.

Recording Hours

How does lunch time work for salaried non-exempt employees?

As the supervisor, you have the option to configure automatic lunch deductions of an hour or 30 minutes so that employees does not have to clock in and out each day. However, you also have the option to require the employee to clock in and out for lunch day. The Payroll Department will address setting up a lunch deduction during the training they offer. Note that if employees work during lunch and this results in a total of hours worked, vacation, and sick time in excess of 40 hours in the work week the employee must be paid overtime. You should make it clear to your employees that working through lunch is a case in which advance approval is required.

Comp Time (Compensatory Time)

Can I require a non-exempt employee to take comp time instead of being paid overtime?

As a supervisor, you have the right to require an employee to work overtime. However, you CANNOT require an employee to accept comp time. Under the regulations the employee must have the choice to either be paid overtime or given comp time. You can ask an employee to work overtime and tell them that you can only offer comp time for the additional hours. In this case, the employee can either accept that or not. If they don’t accept it and it’s critical that you have the employee work overtime, then you will need to pay the employee overtime.

Remember that rearranging employee work schedules may be an option in lieu of overtime/comp time, as long as the hours recorded (work hours, sick and vacation) in a single workweek do not exceed 40. These types of schedules provide flexibility for both the department and the employee.

Is there a limit to how much comp time my employees can accrue?

Yes. For each hour over 40 hours in a work, employees receive one and one-half hours of comp time. Comp time may be accrued up to a maximum of one hundred twenty hours (eighty hours of overtime actually worked). Once the maximum of comp time has been accrued, any additional overtime will automatically be paid to employees per administrative policy 6-07.9. Employees aren’t able to earn any more comp time until they use or cash out some of the hours.

Flex Time

Can I require non-exempt staff members to change from working daytime hours to evening hours as long as they don’t work more than 40 hours per week?

Yes, you can adjust the work hours of an employee to meet the needs of the department. When possible, advance notice (a minimum of two weeks), of such changes should be given to the employee. You can rearrange hours within the same week, but the regulations do not allow you to move hours from one week to the next. The determination of 40 hours “worked” must also include vacation and sick time, per administrative policy 6-07.9.

The employees in my unit are used to having flexibility in their work hours. Can this continue if some or all of them become non-exempt?

Yes. Flex scheduling is allowed within the same work week. As an example, let’s say a typical schedule is 8 hours a day during the day, and the department needs an employee to work a special event for 4 hours during the evening. The schedule may be changed to give the employee 4 hours of time off at another time during the same work week.

Miscellaneous

Does time spent answering emails or using a mobile phone for work outside of normal hours count towards overtime for non-exempt employees?

For nonexempt employees who respond to emails or calls outside of normal work hours on a “regular” basis, that time is counted as work time for overtime purposes. If a non-exempt employee responds to emails or calls briefly and “very occasionally,” then court cases have considered that to be “de-minimis” and therefore not counted for overtime purposes. However, supervisors have discretion to establish overtime approval processes.

What about professional training? Is there a difference if nonexempt employees attend training is voluntary versus involuntary?

If an employee is required to attend training related to their individual job, the training is considered involuntary and the employee must be paid for the time.

According to the Department of Labor, training is not work time if all four of the following criteria are met:

Training is outside of working hours, and
Training is voluntary, and
Training is not directly related to the job, and
The employee has no productive work during attendance.

If all four of the above criteria are met, then the training would be considered voluntary and the employee would not be paid.

How will vacation and sick time accrual change for employees who will become eligible for overtime?

The annualized vacation and sick leave accrual amounts will remain the same. However, since employees will be moving from being paid 24 times a year (semi-monthly) to being paid 26 times a year (bi-weekly), the amount they receive with each pay will be slightly different than what they have been receiving. The important thing to remember is over a 12-month period, employees will receive the same amount as they have been.

For more information regarding vacation accrual, click here.

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