Who is eligible?
Only non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a work week are eligible for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Exempt employees, union workers, independent contractors, and trainees are not eligible.
What is a non-exempt position?
Non-exempt positions are jobs which are paid bi-weekly on an hourly basis and are subject to the minimum wage and overtime compensation provisions of the FLSA. By contrast, "exempt" employees are not eligible for overtime compensation because they are paid on a "salary basis" and their primary job duties fall within the "executive," "administrative" or "professional" exemptions of the FLSA. "Salary basis" means the employee is paid a predetermined amount of at least $455 each pay period (with certain exceptions) regardless of the quality or quantity of the work performed.
How is overtime compensation calculated?
Bentley pays overtime compensation at one and one half times the employee's regular hourly rate for all hours worked over 40 in a given work week. Please note that holidays, sick days, vacation time and personal days are not counted when calculating whether you have worked more than 40 hours in a work week. A 35 hour work week is standard for most full-time employees at Bentley. Therefore, a non-exempt employee who works more than 35 hours in a work week is compensated at his or her regular hourly rate for hours between 35 and 40 and at the time and one half rate for hours above 40. To illustrate, if an employee works 45 hours in one week, then the employee would be entitled to 5 hours of pay at his or her regular rate (for hours 35 to 40), plus 5 hours of overtime pay at one and one half times the regular rate (for hours 40 to 45), for a total of 12.5 hours pay at the regular rate.
May compensatory leave be granted instead of overtime pay?
Yes. Managers have the discretion to award compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay. If time off is granted, the leave must be taken within the same pay week. It cannot be "saved" or "banked" for later use. Compensatory leave is calculated in the same manner as overtime pay.
What are the employees' responsibilities with respect to overtime?
Bentley may require overtime work from non-exempt employees. Employees are expected to accept overtime assignments, given with reasonable notice, as a condition of their employment. Employees must obtain a supervisor's prior approval before performing any overtime work, and they must ensure that overtime hours are recorded accurately on the appropriate department's bi-weekly timesheet. Unauthorized overtime work is strictly prohibited. Bentley employees are also strictly prohibited from altering pay records or taking any other action that deprives a non-exempt employee of compensation for hours worked.
What are the managers' responsibilities with respect to overtime?
Managers are expected to control and limit overtime for non-exempt employees. To do this effectively, managers have the discretion to adjust work schedules to coincide with the department's needs. For example, if evening or weekend work is required, the manager has the discretion to adjust an employee's schedule to work Tuesday through Saturday or 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for that pay period. Managers should provide reasonable advance notice of overtime obligations and schedule changes. Managers are required to review and approve all overtime work in advance. Like all employees, managers are also strictly prohibited from altering pay records or taking any other action that deprives a non-exempt employee of compensation for hours worked.
What is the procedure for reporting errors or concerns about overtime compensation?
If a non-exempt employee has reason to believe that he or she or any other non-exempt employee has not been compensated for all hours worked at the appropriate rate of pay, the employee should immediately report the concern to Human Resources. Human Resources will investigate, and if it is determined that overtime compensation has been improperly withheld or calculated from one or more non-exempt employees, those employees will be promptly paid the appropriate overtime compensation and Bentley will make a good faith commitment to ensure future compliance with this policy.
Important Note:
A violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.