Fair Labor Standards Act
Overtime Basics
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed by Congress in 1938 to establish a
minimum wage, overtime compensation standards, record keeping requirements, child
labor provisions, and other regulations that affect employers and labor. In 1985, the
U.S. Supreme Court mandated the application of the Act to all state and local
governments.
All employees shall work an established workweek of not more than 40 hours. The
University of Colorado Colorado Springs work week is Saturday 12:01 am through
Friday midnight. Employees in public safety related positions are allowed to establish
a special workweek. Contact HR to discuss this option.
Exempt/Non-exempt: These terms refer to the status of an employee as being exempt
from overtime pay or eligible for overtime pay.
A. Exempt Employees meet the criteria that exempt them from the minimum
wage and overtime compensation provisions of the FLSA. The four exemption
categories that apply to state employees are Executive, Administrative,
Professional, and Computer Professional. Human Resources will determine if an
exemption applies when reviewing the employee's actual duties.
Exempt employees shall not be granted extra pay for hours worked in excess of
40 hours in a workweek. An appointing authority may grant discretionary
administrative leave or other incentives but such awards shall not be tied to
actual hours worked.
B. Non-Exempt Employees do not meet the criteria for any of the exemption
categories and are eligible for overtime under FLSA. All hourly employees
(regardless of pay levels and employment status) are non-exempt and are
automatically eligible for overtime compensation of job responsibilities. Overtime
does not accrue until after 40 hours are worked in the workweek. Part-time nonexempt employees do not earn overtime unless they work more than 40 hours in
a designated workweek.
Hours Worked - The FLSA requires non-exempt employees to be compensated
for any time worked over 40 hours in a week and receive at least one and onehalf times their regular rates of pay for those overtime hours. Work hours mean
when employees are "suffered or permitted to work".
All work time is to be considered for overtime calculation, excluding holidays and
authorized paid leaves such as annual leave, sick leave, jury duty, funeral leave,
administrative leave, etc.**
Work hours cannot be averaged across workweeks. Each workweek stands
on its own. Under the Act (§ 778.315), in determining overtime compensation all
hours worked (see §778.223) by an employee in a particular workweek must be
counted. This extra compensation for the overtime work cannot be said to have
been paid to an employee unless all the straight time compensation due for the
non-overtime hours has been paid. The alternative to paying for straight time
worked is to give time off within the same workweek.
Compensatory Time – Compensatory time is allowed for public sector
employees and must be accumulated at a rate of not less than one and one-half
hours of compensatory time for each hour of overtime work. According to UCCS
policy, supervisors must ensure that compensatory time is scheduled as soon as
practical. Compensatory time shall not exceed 100 hours and any compensatory
time earned in excess of the 100 hours, should be paid at the next regular pay
period.
All employees receive an offer letter (new hire/promotion). The letter must include a
statement regarding the FLSA designation (Exempt/Non-exempt) and a statement that
compensatory time will be allowed in lieu of cash payment if the position is eligible for
overtime.
If a non-exempt employee performs work on his or her own volition, and is permitted to
perform it, the time is work time and must be paid. Even if an employee voluntarily stays
late to complete a project, the additional work time must be compensated. Sometimes,
supervisors are not aware of voluntary extra work being performed by employees;
however, as long as there is evidence that the work was done, it must be compensated.
If work was not preapproved, corrective and/or disciplinary action may be imposed.
Break and Meal Periods - Breaks and scheduled meal periods are discretionary, e.g.,
employees are not entitled to two 15-minute breaks each day. Scheduled meal periods
are not work time and must be at least 20 minutes. However, if the employee is
materially interrupted or not completely free from duties, the meal period is counted as
work time. Breaks shall not offset other work time or substitute for paid leave, not be
taken at the beginning or end of the workday, nor be used to extend meal periods.
Meeting and Training Time - Mandatory training or meetings are work time. Voluntary
training during work hours, as approved by the supervisor, which is directly related to an
employee’s job and is designed to enhance performance, is work time. Voluntary
training after hours to gain additional skill or knowledge is not work time, even if it is job
related.
Travel Time - Travel time is compensable depending upon the nature of the travel.
Ordinary travel to and from work is not work time. Travel from work site to work site is
work time. When an employee is required to travel a substantial distance to perform a
job away from the regular work site, the travel is work time.
Employees Volunteering Services - Departments cannot allow their overtime-eligible
employees to volunteer, without compensation, for additional time to do the same type
of work for which they are employed.
**Exception for Essential Services Positions: Staff whose positions are determined
to be in an essential services position will have vacation, sick or other paid leave hours
included in the hours worked calculation when determining overtime hours.
Positions that are designated as essential typically meet one or more of the following
(or similar) criteria on a regular, ongoing basis, or during clearly defined times during the
week, month, or year (like the payroll cycle):
The position is necessary to support or maintain:






Human health, welfare and/or safety;
Information technology services or security;
Building or property security, safety, and integrity;
Research animals, specimens, or equipment;
Critical infrastructure (power, water, heat, roads, etc.);
Critical business, contractual, or legal obligations.
Recordkeeping
Every employer covered by the FLSA must keep certain records for each covered,
nonexempt worker.
UCCS maintains employee work records in MyLeave and is reported in HRMS. Time
sheets are required for non-exempt employees. While time sheets are not required for
exempt employees, they must be submitted through MyLeave so the exception time
(vacation, sick) can be recorded in HRMS.