Overtime Policy of State Of South Dakota

EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE FOR OVERTIME PAY

Employees eligible for overtime compensation shall be paid cash or with compensatory time off at the rate of time and one-half based on a 40 hour work week. Employees are determined to be eligible for overtime based on the duties of the individual position and the pay policy of the state. Institutional business officers will make this determination with consultation provided by the Board of Regents Office and the Bureau of Personnel.

Work Week

Overtime for hourly employees, with the exception of a small number of specified staff, will be calculated for hours worked over 40 in one week. The workweek will commence on Sunday at 12:00 a.m. and end at 11:59 p.m. the following Saturday.

Overtime Payment

Overtime pay will be computed as actual hours worked in excess of 40 hours, with the exception of a small number of specified staff. Overtime pay will commence with the 41^st hour worked in the work week. In computing overtime hours, holiday hours and leave hours will not be considered as hours worked.

Work Week Adjustments

Employees and managers are expected to adjust the workweek whenever possible to avoid an overtime liability. For example, if an employee works 40 hours in the first four days of the normal work week, every effort should be made to adjust the work schedule so that the employee will not work more than 40 hours. In this example, the employee would not report for work the last day of the work week.

Leave Time

Annual leave, sick leave, court and jury leave, personal leave, military leave and any other leave time will not be counted as hours worked for overtime purposes.

If annual or sick leave in combination with actual hours worked totals more than 40 hours during the work week, the amount of leave the employee is required to take must be reduced to bring the total hours paid to 40 hours for the week. If an employee works more than 40 hours, no leave time shall be deducted from the employee’s balance with the exception of employees who meet the criteria in the following paragraph. If both sick and annual leave have been taken in a week which requires adjustment of leave, the sick leave should be adjusted before annual leave.

Employees who have a maximum annual leave balance will not have their work schedule adjusted if they have their annual leave approved prior to working the overtime hours. The hours that will prevent the employee from losing that pay period’s accrual will be paid. For example, if an employee had prior approval to take annual leave on a Friday and was required to work more than 40 hours Monday through Thursday, the employee should be paid for the amount of annual leave requested that is necessary to prevent a loss of annual leave. Payment to employees with scheduled leave only applies to employees with maximum leave balances.

Employees who are on military leave or court and jury leave will be paid the leave hours at straight time regardless of other hours worked during the week. The leave time will not be counted as hours worked. The appointing authority may require employees to work during hours outside of the military or court and jury leave.

Administrative Leave

Employees who are on administrative leave will be paid the leave hours at straight time regardless of other hours worked during the week. Administrative leave will not be counted as hours worked.

If an office is administratively closed, and an employee eligible for overtime is required to work, the employee must be granted either:

1. Time off at a later date for the hours the employee worked when the office was closed in addition to payment for actual hours worked, or;

2. Straight time pay equal to the number of hours the employee worked in addition to payment for actual hours worked when the office was administratively closed.

Holiday Pay

Holiday hours will not count as hours worked for purposes of computing overtime. All overtime-eligible employees who work at least one shift or are on paid leave during the calendar week in which the holiday falls are eligible for holiday pay. For payroll purposes, a holiday is no more than eight hours. An employee who is on leave without pay during the week when a holiday occurs will not receive holiday benefits. Employees who are newly hired into the system and who begin work the day after the holiday will not receive the holiday pay hours.

The employee must be compensated with time off or cash reimbursement for holiday hours provided by South Dakota law. If an employee works on a holiday, they could receive those holiday hours off at a later date equal to the number of hours worked or receive straight time cash reimbursement equal to the number of hours worked.

For example, overtime eligible employees who work 32 or more hours in a week when an eight hour holiday is observed will be paid straight rates for the "extra" hours over 32 and through 40. If more than 40 hours are actually worked, exclusive of the 8 unworked holiday hours, then time and one-half is paid for those hours over 40 for overtime eligible employess.

Part time employees will continue to receive prorated holiday pay depending upon the average number of hours they have worked in the previous three months of their appointment.

Inconvenience Pay

Overtime eligible employees who have fulfilled all of the following conditions are guaranteed a minimum of three hours pay regardless of the hours actually worked:

1) employee has completed the normal shift and left the work place;

1. is unexpectedly required to return to work; and

2. is called in prior to the beginning of the next scheduled shift and does not continue working into the scheduled shift.

Employees who are called in prior to the beginning of their scheduled shift and who are allowed to continue working through the shift are not eligible for inconvenience pay. Only the hours actually worked are used in the computation of overtime.

Inconvenience pay hours, up to three hours, that are not worked are paid at straight time and are not part of the hours used for calculating overtime. For example, if an overtime eligible employee has worked for 40 hours, is unexpectedly called back to work and works for one hour, the employee is paid as follows:

Hours worked at straight time = 40

Hours worked at 1 1/2x = 1

Inconvenience pay hours at straight time = 2

If the employee is on-call and the on-call hours are compensable as hours worked, inconvenience pay is not required.

Inconvenience pay does not apply if the employee is not required to actually leave his residence for the work site. For example, employees who can deal with a problem on the phone without leaving the residence are not eligible for inconvenience pay. The time spent at the residence dealing with the problem is considered as hours worked.

On-Call Time

Employees may be required to report to work in their off hours on short notice. If calls to perform work are so frequent or the readiness for work conditions are so restrictive that the employee is not really free to use the intervening periods effectively for his own benefits, the time must be considered hours worked.

Time spent on call is considered hours worked if the employee is required to remain on the employer’s premises or at a location specified by the employer. Employees who use beepers are not considered to be working and the hours are not compensable. When employees are called out on a job assignment, only the time actually spent working is considered as hours worked. Inconvenience pay for up to three hours may be required. Employees who live at the work site are not eligible for inconvenience pay.

Job-Related Training

Attendance at conferences, workshops, meetings or classes for which the State pays travel expenses, registration fees, tuition or for which employees are not required to take annual leave, leave without pay or adjust the work schedule, are considered as hours worked. This policy applies to any training for which the State pays.

Hours spent in State-paid instruction must be considered as hours worked unless all of the following criteria are met:

1. Attendance is outside of the employee’s regular working hours;

2. Attendance is in fact voluntary and not directed or suggested by management;

3. The course, lecture or meeting is not directly related to the employee’s job; and

4. The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance.

If all of the criteria are met, the training need not be counted as hours worked.

Educational leave outlined in ARSD 55:01:22:10, as opposed to job-related training, is not considered as hours worked.

Reduced tuition rates for State employees allowed by SDCL 3-20 in and of itself does not constitute State payment for purposes of determining whether such training should be counted as hours worked.

Travel Time

Time spent in travel will be counted as hours worked. Layovers at airports where the employee is not free to pursue personal interests is also included as time spent in travel and counted as hours worked. Actual meeting time outside of the normal work schedule is also considered as hours worked.

Hours in which employees are free to do as they please and time spent relaxing and sleeping are not compensable.

Social activities at conferences outside of normal working hours are not considered as working time unless the employee has been directed by management to attend the activity for the purpose of hosting guests or fulfilling a work-related function. For example, if management has directed an employee to coordinate and host a banquet as part of the university’s obligation at a conference, those hours are working time. If a volunteering employee attends a banquet at a conference and does not have an assigned role, the hours are not compensable.

Record Keeping

All overtime-eligible employees will maintain and submit complete records of hours worked and leave time. The records will reflect the date, number of hours worked and leave time taken for each pay period. 

EMPLOYEES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR OVERTIME

Employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act are not eligible for compensatory time.

Leave Time

Employees not eligible for overtime compensation are expected to be available to the public, co-workers and subordinates to provide assistance and guidance on policy problems and questions.

Employees not eligible for overtime will not be required to take annual, sick, personal, military, or court and jury leave in less than one day increments. No leave time or salary deductions from the employee’s paycheck can be made for absences of less than one day. If the employee is absent from the job for a day during the pay period, some type of leave must be taken, unless prior approval for a leave of absence is obtained.

Employees must continue to obtain approval from their supervisor prior to an absence from work. Managers are expected to set the normal working hours and approve time away from the job for employees not eligible for overtime, regardless of whether leave must be taken. Employees and managers should keep in mind when requesting and approving time away from the job that such employees are compensated not for the amount of time spent on the job, but rather for the general value of services performed. Before time away from the job is approved, managers and employees are expected to ensure that the needs of the public and other state employees who rely on them can reliable be met.

Holiday Pay

Non-overtime-eligible employees who work at least one shift or are on paid leave during the calendar week in which the holiday falls are eligible for holiday pay. For payroll purposes, a holiday is no more than eight hours. An employee who is on leave without pay during the week when a holiday occurs will not receive holiday benefits. Employees who are newly hired into the system and who begin work the day after the holiday will not receive the holiday pay hours.

Record Keeping

All employees will keep and submit complete leave requests. The records will reflect the date and type of leave time taken for each pay period.