EMPLOYMENT CLASSIFICATIONS, WORK WEEK, AND OVERTIME The Lafayette Parish School Board complies with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in all aspects as well as hours of work that are compatible with all federal, state, and local regulations and laws. For purposes of accurate and timely wage and salary determinations, the Lafayette Parish School Board sets forth the following guidelines. EMPLOYMENT CLASSIFICATIONS Human Resources shall make the sole determination of the employee classification and shall indicate the classification in a letter of employment that is issued to every employee when hired. The FSLA classifies employees into two (2) primary groups, as follows. Exempt Employees Exempt employees may include, but not be limited to, the Superintendent, directors, principals, and assistant principals. Other exempt employee classifications which are not covered by overtime pay provisions, if they meet certain criteria defined in FSLA regulations, are administrative, professional (all degreed educators), technical, supervisors, and computer programmers. Such employees are referred to as exempt employees and are paid a monthly salary based upon a forty- (40-) hour workweek. Hours worked do not apply to exempt employees. Title alone does not define exemption; the actual job content will govern and determine exemption. Exempt employees are excluded from the overtime requirements, and their work schedules may include meetings, extracurricular activities, parent conferences, planning time and other responsibilities of the position. The salary of exempt employees is designed to compensate them for all hours worked, including hours in excess of eight (8) hours in one day and forty (40) hours in one week. Exempt employees are recognized as being paid a salary, which is defined as a uniform amount, no matter how many hours are worked. Non-Exempt Employees Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours in a workweek at the rate of 1 ½ times regular base rate. Non-exempt employees are paid at an hourly rate and may also be paid a salary based upon an hourly rate that is the equivalent to forty (40) hours worked in a workweek. Non-exempt employees who have a work schedule of fewer than forty (40) hours in a workweek are not paid overtime compensation unless the employee works more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. Such employees will be paid their regular rate of pay for time worked up to forty (40) hours. Any and all paid time off does not count toward time worked for the purposes of earning overtime pay (this includes annual leave, sick days [all types], paid or un-paid leave of absence, intermittent leave under FMLA, holidays, bereavement, military duty, jury duty, Page 1 of 8
emergency closings or any other time off without pay). Non-exempt employees may also include office employees who perform non-manual labor, such as secretaries, clerks, paraprofessionals, LPNs, data-processing operators, information system technicians, cafeteria managers, food service employees, bus drivers, maintenance staff, custodial staff, accounting/payroll/human Resources staff, skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled labor. Regular Full-Time Employees - Regular full-time employees are those employees, whether exempt or non-exempt, who have been hired on a regular, full-time basis (thirty [30] or more hours per week). Regular full-time employees are entitled to all LPSSsponsored benefits for which they qualify. Regular, full-time employees include bus drivers whose full-time position may be accomplished in fewer than thirty (30) hours. Part-Time Employees - Part-time employees are those employees who have been hired to work on a part-time basis (fewer than thirty [30] hours per week on average). Part-time employees shall not be eligible to receive LPSS-sponsored benefits unless otherwise mandated by federal or state regulations or plan terms. Temporary Employees - Temporary employees are those employees who have been hired to work for a limited period of time (fewer than three [3] months) or on a specific project. They may work on either a full-time (thirty [30] hours or more per week) or parttime (fewer than thirty [30] hours per week on average) basis. Temporary employees shall not be eligible for LPSS-sponsored benefits unless otherwise mandated by federal or state regulations or plan terms. WORKWEEK The workweek is defined as a contiguous seven (7) consecutive day period of 168 hours commencing at 12:01am Monday and running through 12:00 midnight the following Sunday. For non-exempt full-time or part-time employees, forty (40) hours worked constitutes the regularly scheduled workweek. Due to the nature of school and system operations working hours and schedules will be flexibly arranged and will strive to accommodate the needs of our students to the extent practicable and safe. The Lafayette Parish School Board reserves the right to change or modify work hours it determines are in the best interest of the Lafayette Parish School System (LPSS). WORK SCHEDULES Work schedules for employees shall vary throughout LPSS. The work schedule for exempt employees such as principals, teachers and others defined herein shall vary as Page 2 of 8
New to time of reporting and shall continue until professional responsibilities and duties provided to students, individual schools, and the school system are completed. Administrative meetings, curriculum development, pupil supervision, assigned duties, parent conferences, group or individual planning, extracurricular activities, faculty meetings. School Board and Board committee meetings may require hours beyond any stated minimum. The Superintendent or his/her designee, consistent with the FLSA and the provisions of this policy, will define work schedules for non-exempt employees. Exempt employees are expected to assume reasonable duties over and above their regular responsibilities. Supervisors and principals shall have authority to make such assignments, which shall be distributed as equitably as possible. In schools, this extra duty may include aspects of student accounting, supervision of students in the cafeteria, halls, playground, and the bus loading area during non-instructional periods and activity sponsorship. Coaches and band directors shall be rewarded with extra compensation in accordance with a schedule approved by the Board. Supervisors shall advise employees of their individual schedules. Staffing needs and operational demands may necessitate variations in starting and ending times, as well as variations in the total hours that may be scheduled each day and week. MINIMUM WAGE The minimum wage paid on an hour-by-hour basis to all school system employees whether full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary, shall be at least equal to the federal minimum wage. WORKING TIME AND OVERTIME Hours Worked Defined - Hours worked is defined as all time from the moment an individual actually begins work (any prep such as changing clothes on-site to get ready to work is counted as time worked) until the individual finishes work for the day, except for the deduction of time spent at lunch or dinner (where applicable). Travel to and from home to the reporting location or worksite does not constitute time worked. However, official travel for the purposes of performing duties during an individual's regular working hours will be considered hours worked. For example, if the reporting site is the central office and the employee is dispatched to a school, in order to perform their assigned duties at that school, then the time spent traveling from the central office to the school and back to the central office or another school is considered time worked. Arriving early or leaving late for the employee s own convenience is not included in hours worked, and employees are prohibited from arriving more than fifteen (15) Page 3 of 8
New minutes prior to the start of their individual workday unless specifically permitted by their immediate supervisor. The employee should perform no authorized duties for LPSS during such intervals. Hours spent away from work such as paid time off or absences-- either excused or unexcused--do not constitute hours worked and shall be calculated separately for compensation purposes. Central office hours are from 7:30am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday, with a 1- or ½- hour unpaid lunch break. Each department shall determine its working hours and meal/break periods only after approval by the Superintendent. Any occurrence where an employee arrives at work later than ten (10) minutes after the beginning of the scheduled workday or leaves work more than ten (10) minutes before the end of the scheduled workday shall be considered an occurrence of tardiness or absence. Three (3) or more such occurrences in a rolling ninety- (90-) day period shall be considered as a regular recurrence. The regular recurrence of this absence or tardiness pattern shall result in disciplinary action that could include termination of employment. The workday for non-exempt employees shall be eight (8) working hours unless otherwise defined. Any employee who is unable to complete the workday because of an injury occurring on the job or illness related to the job shall be paid for the time waiting to receive and receiving medical attention during the workday on which the injury or illness occurred. Overtime - Non-exempt employees who work over forty (40) hours per workweek shall be compensated at an overtime rate of one and one-half (1.5) times their regular hourly rate. All non-exempt employees must receive advance authorization from management to work overtime and shall be disciplined if they do not adhere to this policy. Administrators, school principals, assistant principals, department heads and other supervisors shall be subject to discipline for allowing non-exempt employees under their supervision to work more than forty (40) hours in a workweek without the advance approval of the department head or his/her designee. Time away from work, such as paid time off, holidays, sick leave, or injury, shall not count as time worked when calculating overtime hours. To calculate overtime, LPSS considers the employee s normal work week to be forty (40) hours worked in that workweek. Employees may be scheduled to work overtime hours only with prior approval by their immediate supervisor or other supervising administrator. When possible, advance notification of these mandatory assignments shall be provided. The LPSS shall make every effort to plan required overtime with regard to its impact on the employees and needs of the school system. Page 4 of 8
The Lafayette Parish School Board discourages overtime work (more than forty [40] hours in a workweek) by non-exempt employees. Meal Periods - Unless otherwise specified, employees performing work at the office or shop shall be provided a lunch break of sixty (60) minutes. Employees shall be relieved of all duties during their meal period, and the hour does not count as an hour worked for the purposes of calculating pay unless the non-exempt employee is required to perform work duties during the meal period. Employees assigned to night shift duty shall have the same lunch break as day shift employees. The employee s time card should reflect this lunch break, showing the time the break began and ended, or somehow otherwise reflect in the calculation of time worked when hours are calculated. The employee s supervisor shall assign the meal period for each employee. LPSS may stagger meal schedules to provide for continuous safe and effective operation. Break Periods - LPSS provides two (2) paid, fifteen- (15-) minute breaks each eight- (8-) hour workday, one to be taken in the first half of the work day, and the second to be taken in the last half of the work day. Break periods of fifteen (15) minutes or longer do not count as work time. Employees daily scheduled breaks shall be set in accordance with their work schedule by their supervisor. Additional breaks are not allowed for smoking. LPSS may stagger employee break times to provide for continuous safe and effective operation. Breaks should be taken in safe areas only. PART-TIME IN DIFFERENT CAPACITY If non-exempt individuals are employed in one capacity but are directed to work parttime in a different capacity, on an occasional or regular basis, the hours logged in the secondary capacity shall be counted as hours worked for overtime purposes. Exempt employees shall be permitted to work varying assignments (such as mentoring/tutoring) and be paid a stipend that is hourly, weekly, developmental, or seasonal. The stipend shall not be paid as overtime or otherwise interfere with their exempt classification. Flexible Time Principals or supervisors may need to adjust daily schedules of non-exempt employees to prevent non-exempt employees working more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. Accurate and complete time sheets and/or records of the actual hours worked during a Page 5 of 8
flexible workweek shall be signed by each non-exempt employee and supervisor and submitted to the Payroll Department. Non-exempt employees shall not be allowed to begin their duties prior to their scheduled start time, and supervisors shall monitor sign-in procedures to prevent employees performing duties prior to the start time. Recording Overtime Hours A. Written authorizations for overtime requests may exist in different forms, i.e., memo, letter or email. The document must contain the explanation of the nature of the work performed. The document with approval signature by the supervisor or his/her designee must be affixed to the timesheet. B. Overtime requests must contain the dates or period of time for the overtime work, the name(s) and job title(s) of employees working overtime, purpose/justification for the overtime, and the account from which the overtime will be paid. C. Employees must record overtime hours daily on timesheets to show the number of hours worked in excess of the regular hours of the day. VOLUNTEERS A volunteer is defined as an individual who receives no compensation or who is paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee to perform the services for which the individual volunteered and such services are offered freely and without coercion, direct or implied, from LPSS. If an employee of LPSS wishes to volunteer, the volunteer services must be different from the services the employee is employed to perform. The administration must approve any exception. EXEMPT EMPLOYEE DEDUCTIONS Deductions from pay are permissible when an exempt employee is absent from work for one (1) or more full days for personal reasons other than sickness or disability; for absences of one (1) or more full days resulting from sickness or disability if the deduction is made in accordance with a bona fide plan, policy or practice of providing compensation for salary lost as a result of illness; to offset amounts employees receive as jury or witness fees; for military pay; for penalties imposed in good faith for infractions of safety rules of major significance; or for unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one (1) or more full days imposed in good faith for workplace conduct rule infractions. An exempt employee may file a grievance in accordance with the School Board's grievance procedure (policy GAE), if there is a dispute or objection to deduction from pay. Page 6 of 8
SPECIAL SITUATIONS Non-exempt employees cannot volunteer to perform work that is part of their normal job duties. For example, a custodian may not volunteer to clean up after school events (such as football games) without such time counting as hours worked during a workweek. A custodian could volunteer to coach an athletic team. An employee who is the parent of a child in an activity may volunteer for work similar to his/her regular duties upon special request and permission. Meetings, when authorized or required. shall be counted as hours worked for nonexempt employees. In-Service Training, when authorized or required, shall be counted as hours worked for non-exempt employees. Waiver of Rights - non-exempt employees shall not be allowed to waive their rights under FLSA. Bus Drivers and Bus Attendants - uninterrupted time off, when the bus driver or attendant is free to pursue personal activity between the morning and afternoon runs, shall not count as hours worked. Vocational students performing work as part of a curriculum are students and not workers; therefore, wages are not mandatory under FLSA. Students helping in office capacities for short periods of time are volunteers and not employees. The payment of wages is not mandatory under FLSA. Release time - the Superintendent may grant exempt employees release time from their duties in the event of required extended periods of duty resulting from extreme emergencies such as some natural disasters or man-made disasters. Such release time may not affect the orderly operation of the school system. Flexible time (flex time) - A principal or supervisor may adjust the hours and schedule of a non-exempt employee within a workweek to avoid an employee working more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. An employee may be given a different reporting time or quitting time after a scheduled evening requirement during the workweek. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF POLICY Employees shall be provided a copy of this policy and be required to sign a statement to acknowledge their receipt of the policy. Ref: 29 USC 201 et.seq. (The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended); Page 7 of 8
Adopted:. New Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority et al., 105 S.Ct. 1005 (February 1985) Page 8 of 8