The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that governs overtime pay provisions for employees across the United States. Employees who are paid on fixed, preset salaries and are engaged in executive, administrative or professional (including research) duties are considered exempt from overtime. Currently an employee’s annual salary must be at least $844 per week ($43,888 per year) to meet this exemption. Effective January 1, 2025, the annual salary threshold will increase to $1,128 per week or $58,656 per year. (Note: While there is ongoing litigation about this regulation, it is presently scheduled to go into effect.)

Except for employees who meet certain exemption criteria like teachers, employees who were previously overtime-exempt will now be salaried non-exempt as long as their salary is below the new threshold. Salaried non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime based on the requirements of this federal regulation.

Salaried non-exempt employees receive pay on a salary basis that provides compensation for their regular service. They also receive pay for additional hours worked. In other words, a full- time employee receives overtime when they work more hours than their full-time workweek. This also means that they need to complete biweekly timesheets. (See table below for further summary details.)

If an employee later has their salary exceed the threshold, they will again be overtime-exempt.

The decision can be revisited later, for example if the unit experiences a significant and consistent amount of overtime hours. The expected timeframe for revisiting the decision is no sooner than six months after the employee becomes salaried non-exempt, to provide sufficient data to inform a new decision.

Salaried non-exempt employees will receive overtime compensation when hours in pay status exceed either 40 hours/week (academic) or 37.5 or 40 hours/week (civil service), regardless of whether the employee is part-time or full time. Non-exempt civil service employees also receive overtime compensation when hours in pay status exceed 7.5/day or 8/day in accordance with Policy and Rules for Civil Service Staff. The workweek period starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday.

Hours in pay status means time worked plus time for leave benefits such as vacation and sick leave.

Employees will need to have pre-authorization for appropriate use of overtime hours. Preauthorization may vary from unit to unit, and in some cases, supervisor to supervisor. Supervisors should work with their unit and college leadership to establish a feasible overtime schedule and parameters that best suit your operational needs. Some examples could be:

• Pre-approval for ANY/ALL hours worked in an overtime capacity.
• Blanket approval for overtime up to a certain number of hours, i.e., any hours up to 5 hours per week is allowable without pre-approval. Any hours in excess must be discussed prior to the work is performed.
• Seasonal peak periods with no limit or pre-approval necessary

Yes, part-time employees must be compensated for hours worked beyond the appointment FTE. This time is paid at the regular hourly rate. Hours in pay status beyond either 40 hours/week (academic) or 37.5 or 40 hours/week (civil service) are overtime. Non-exempt civil service employees also receive overtime compensation when hours in pay status exceed 7.5/day or 8/day in accordance with Policy and Rules for Civil Service Staff.

Yes, the unit will be responsible for creating the pre-approval overtime guidelines and each individual position will be unique in that the overtime scenarios may be different.

If a sponsored employee receives a threshold increase due to the FLSA, International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) needs to be notified. Supervisors should consult with their unit HR representative.

More information about employees paid on grants as it relates to overtime can be found on the Sponsored Programs page. Many sponsored programs do not allow overtime pay to be charged to them. Contact your unit HR representative for guidance.

It will depend on what bi-weekly payroll entry method is utilized in your department. Please contact your unit HR representative for information.

Salaried non-exempt employees report time in 15-minute increments. If the amount of time worked is less than or equal to 7 minutes, then no overtime should be reported or paid. This time is considered “de minimis”. If the amount of time worked is greater than or equal to 7 minutes, then yes, overtime should be reported as 15 minutes. A rounding schedule will be provided. (See also: FLSA Remote Work Considerations)

• Ensure timesheets are submitted and approved every two weeks regardless of whether or not overtime hours are worked.
• Set guidelines for preauthorization of overtime per unit/college guidance
• Reinforce reporting of all hours worked
• Be mindful of when your staff are working and when you are asking them to work
• Do not permit “comp time” (the payment of overtime in the form of a leave balance)
• Clearly communicate work expectations, including any flexing of an employee’s schedule within the work week (e.g., working more hours one day and less on another)
• Ensure that the funding source of the employee allows overtime or that an alternative funding source exists

Yes, the university can require employees to work overtime. As with other scheduling changes and expectations, we must make an effort to provide reasonable, advance notice to the employee of their expected work schedule.

Yes. More information is available on the Service in Excess form.

The University’s Budget Guidelines each fiscal year establish the criteria for eligibility for the salary program, and the FY26 guidelines have not been finalized yet. As a reference point, the FY24 and FY25 Guidelines included that an employee who received a “significant increase” March 1 or later were ineligible for the salary program.

Full details for the specifics of these changes can be found at Fair Labor Standards Act Updates & Resources and employees will be given an informational fact sheet with their determination letter.