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POLICY #8.5.1 
SUBJECT: Overtime (non-Exempt Personnel)

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Policy is to outline the Overtime policy and procedures of Southern Utah University.

II. REFERENCES

  1. Fair Labor Standards Act
  2. Utah Code § 63A-17-502 Overtime Policies for State Employees 
  3. Division of Labor Law Enforcement overtime

III. DEFINITIONS

  1. Overtime: Overtime represents time actually worked by a non-exempt employee in excess of 40 hours during any Work week.. For non-exempt law enforcement, Overtime eligibility is applicable at over 80 hours in a 14 consecutive day payroll cycle in alignment with Utah Code § 63A-17-502 and Division of Labor Standards.
  2. Leave Balance Accruals: The amount of leave an employee has accrued or earned as identified in Policies within “Section 9. University Leave”, and including compensatory time which is captured in weekly reporting for non-exempt employees who work in excess of 40 hours per week or for law enforcement as defined in III.A.
  3. Work week: The period between Saturday morning at 12:00 AM and the following Friday evening at 11:59pm.

IV. POLICY

  1. Employees are designated as either exempt or non-exempt from Overtime compensation in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Professional, supervisory, or management employees are designated as exempt and are not eligible for Overtime compensation. Employees designated as non-exempt are eligible for Overtime compensation.
  2. Work in excess of eight (8) hours on any workday is not Overtime. Overtime only occurs when more than 40 hours are actually worked in any one (1) Work week. For law enforcement, Overtime only occurs when more than 80 hours are actually worked in a 14 consecutive day payroll cycle. (Time off for vacation, holidays, leave, sickness, etc., are not included as hours actually worked.) Daily hours may be varied within a Work week to accomplish necessary workloads and to limit or eliminate the necessity for Overtime, but supervisors shall also exercise care that extended work schedules do not result in fatigue-related safety problems.
  3. Department heads and supervisors shall schedule their departmental workloads to preclude the need for Overtime whenever possible. Payment for Overtime requires the final approval of the cognizant division head.
  4. Employees are not authorized to work Overtime without the prior approval of the immediate supervisor. The only exception to this is an emergency situation where the immediate supervisor must approve the Overtime on an after the fact basis.
  5. Supervisors may choose to use paid Overtime or compensatory time to recognize Overtime actually worked. Compensatory time cannot be used when the total compensatory time accumulated by an employee reaches a ceiling of 120 hours (80 hours of Overtime multiplied by 1.5). Overtime worked above the ceiling necessitates payment.
  6. Compensatory time shall be accumulated at the rate of one and one-half (1.5) times the Overtime hours actually worked. To pay out Overtime or compensatory time, this request should be submitted via a Human Resources Electronic Payroll Action Form (EPAF) with justification of Overtime and payment from the employee's immediate supervisor and include the number of Overtime or compensatory hours to be paid out. The available hours can be found as “Compensatory Time (Non-Exempt)” in the Leave Balance Accruals of the employee.
  7. Employees who have been approved to work Overtime and earned compensatory time will work with their supervisor to use the time as soon as possible or have it paid within 180 calendar days following the day on which it was earned.
  8. Compensatory time not used at termination will be paid at the normal hourly rate multiplied by the hours of compensatory time accumulated as defined in Section IV.F.
  9. Supervisors are responsible for weekly review and approval of accurate records of compensatory time earned and used for non-exempt employees. All leave records must be maintained for four fiscal years for audit purposes.
  10. Overtime shall be reported in increments of one-quarter (0.25) hour and will be paid by the department in which the work was completed.

V. RELEVANT FORMS/LINKS

N/A

VI. QUESTIONS/RESPONSIBLE OFFICE

The responsible office for this Policy is the Vice President for Finance. For questions about this Policy, contact the Office of Human Resources.

VII. POLICY ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT DATES

Date Approved: October 15, 1993

Amended: July 1, 1998; March 28, 2025