Rev. 5-15-23
The Fair Labor Standards Act exempts broad categories of jobs from minimum wage and overtime requirements if they meet certain tests regarding job duties and responsibilities and are paid a certain minimum salary. Drury University periodically reviews the duties of exempt employees to ensure that they still qualify for exempt status.
Each staff member is designated as either Nonexempt or Exempt according to the university’s interpretation of the requirements of federal and state wage and hour laws.
Nonexempt staff members
Are entitled to overtime pay under the specific provisions of federal and state laws.
Exempt staff members
Are excluded from specific provisions of federal and state wage and hour laws.
A staff member’s Exempt or Nonexempt classification may be changed only upon written notification by the Human Resources Department.
In addition to the above categories, each staff member will belong to one other employment category:
Regular Full-time Staff Members
Those who are not in a temporary status and are regularly scheduled to work 40 hours per week and at least nine consecutive months. Generally, they are eligible for Drury University’s benefit package, subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of each benefit program.
Regular Part-time Staff Members
Those who are not assigned to a temporary status and who are regularly scheduled to work less than 40 hours per week and at least nine consecutive months. Regular part-time staff members who are employed to work 20 or more hours each week are eligible for some benefits sponsored by Drury University, subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of each benefit program.
Coaching Staff Members – Full-Time and Part-Time
Coaching staff members are primarily instructional and have varied work schedules due to the nature of their respective sports. Therefore, some policies in this handbook do not apply, specifically 609 Vacation Leave, 804 Employment Termination, 504 Timekeeping, and 607 Personal Days. Coaching Staff Members will sign appointment letters outlining schedules and time off upon hire.
Temporary Staff Members
Those who are hired as interim replacements, to temporarily supplement the work force, or to assist in the completion of a specific project. Employment assignments in this category are of a limited duration. Employment beyond any initially stated period does not in any way imply a change in employment status. Temporary staff members retain that status unless and until notified of a change. While temporary staff members receive all legally mandated benefits (such as Workers’ Compensation insurance and Social Security), they are ineligible for all of Drury University’s other benefit programs.
Rev. 5-15-23
Accurately recording information on the timesheet is the responsibility of every employee. Federal and state laws require Drury to keep an accurate record of time worked and leave time in order to calculate pay and benefits for relevant employees.
Altering, falsifying, tampering with time records, or recording time on another employee’s time record may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. It is the employee’s responsibility to maintain accurate time reporting.
Exempt Staff
For eligible exempt staff members, time off should be requested in ADP, subject to supervisor approval. Worked hours are not recorded. Coaching staff are generally not required to record hours worked.
Non-Exempt Staff
Non-exempt employees should use the time clock in ADP to record every hour of work. It is the employee’s responsibility to correct any missed punches with the supervisor before the end of each pay period. Time off requests for eligible non-exempt employees should also be requested in ADP, subject to supervisor approval.
Non-exempt staff are specifically prohibited from performing any work for the university off the clock. A supervisor who allows or asks, directly or indirectly, any non-exempt staff member to perform any work for the university off the clock shall be subject to disciplinary measures, up to and including termination. In all cases, all time worked by non-exempt staff MUST be recorded on the time sheet and will be compensated. Any employee who becomes aware of an employee working “off the clock” should immediately report such work to the Department of Human Resources. There will be no retaliation against any employee for reporting any off-the-clock work or any request for off-the-clock work.
Rev. 6-1-08, 5-15-23
Personal days are an all-purpose time-off policy for eligible staff members to use for personal business. Regular, full-time staff members are eligible to earn and use personal days as described in this policy. Coaching staff are not eligible to earn and use personal days.
Up to 16 hours of paid personal leave will be provided to eligible staff members at the beginning of each fiscal year (June 1 through May 31).
Eligible staff members may use personal hours according to the schedule below. However, before personal days can be used, a waiting period of 6 months must be completed. After that time, staff members can request personal days.
Personal days can be used in minimum increments of one hour. Staff members who have an unexpected need to be absent from work should notify their direct supervisor 24 hours before the scheduled start of their workday if possible.
To schedule planned personal days, staff members should request advance approval from their supervisors. Requests will be reviewed based on a number of factors, including business needs and staffing requirements.
Personal days are paid at the staff member’s base pay rate at the time of absence.
Personal days are not cumulative, nor can they be paid at termination of employment. Personal days are intended to provide regular, full-time staff members with paid time in the event that personal obligations require absence from the job.
Rev. 6-1-08, 2nd Rev. 5-1-11, 5-15-23
Drury University provides paid sick leave benefits to all regular full-time staff members for periods of temporary absence due to illnesses or injuries. Eligible staff members may use sick leave benefits under the following circumstances:
Further information on absences due to illness or injury to a family member is addressed in the Family Medical Leave policy, Section 603.
Eligible staff members will accrue sick leave benefits at the rate of 8 hours per month. Sick leave benefits begin the month the individual begins working provided the date of employment is the tenth of the month or earlier; otherwise, accrual begins the following month. Paid sick leave can be used in minimum increments of one hour.
Staff members who will be unable to report to work due to illness or injury should notify their direct supervisor before the scheduled start of their workday if possible. The direct supervisor must also be contacted on each additional day of absence. Before returning to work, staff members may be required to furnish a written statement from their physician stating that the employee has been under the physician’s care and that the employee is capable of performing the essential functions of his or her position before being reinstated.
Sick leave benefits will be calculated based on the staff member’s base pay rate at the time of absence. As an additional condition of eligibility for sick leave benefits, a staff member absent more than 5 consecutive work days must notify Human Resources. Absences in excess of 5 consecutive work days due to a serious medical condition will be designated as Family and Medical Leave. For more information, refer to Section 603, Family and Medical Leave Policy. Sick leave may not be used during Family and Medical Leave unless the leave is due to the employee’s own serious health condition. Absences in excess of available Family and Medical Leave, paid or unpaid, must be arranged with the Human Resources Department.
Unused sick leave benefits will be allowed to accumulate until the staff member has accrued a total of 960 hours of sick leave benefits. If the staff member’s benefits reach this maximum, further accrual of sick leave benefits will be suspended until the staff member has reduced the balance below the limit. Sick leave benefits will be used to provide a salary during the long-term disability elimination period. For more information, refer to Section 306, Long-Term Disability Policy.
Employees will be required to use eligible paid time off concurrently with FMLA. Upon exhaustion of eligible accrued time off, the remainder of leave will be unpaid. For FMLA purposes the leave will be deducted from the employee’s available bank of FMLA leave, from day one of absence.
Staff members absent on paid leave continue to accrue sick leave benefits. University holidays occurring during paid leave are not charged to sick leave benefits. Sick leave benefits cannot be taken in advance of being earned. If accrued sick leave benefits are exhausted, further absences must be charged to accrued vacation. If both accrued sick leave and vacation benefits are exhausted, the staff member’s absence must be charged to leave of absence without pay, if the employee qualifies.
Sick leave benefits are intended solely to provide income protection in the event of a staff member’s illness or injury; or for the non-FMLA illness or injury of an immediate family member and may not be used for any other absence. Unused sick leave benefits will not be paid to staff members while they are employed or upon termination of employment.
Coaching staff are not eligible for sick leave but may qualify for FMLA. For information on FMLA, Family Medical Leave policy, Section 603. For more information on our Long-Term Disability Policy, refer to Section 306, Long-Term Disability Policy.
Rev. 6-1-08; Rev. 5-27-22, 5-15-23
Vacation time-off with pay is available to regular, full-time staff members to provide opportunities for rest, relaxation, and personal pursuits. Staff members earn and use vacation time as described in this policy.
The amount of paid vacation time staff members receive each year is dependent on classification and length of their employment as shown in the following schedule:
Upon initial eligibility the staff member is entitled to 96 vacation hours each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 8 hours.
After 5 years of eligible service, the staff member is entitled to 128 vacation hours each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 10.64 hours.
After 10 years of eligible service, the staff member is entitled to 160 vacation hours each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 13.36 hours.
Upon initial eligibility the staff member is entitled to 128 vacation hours each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 10.64 hours.
After 5 years of eligible service, the staff member is entitled to 160 vacation hours each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 13.36 hours.
Upon initial eligibility the staff member is entitled to 176 vacation hours each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 14.64 hours.
Vacation accrual begins the month the person begins working, provided the date of employment is the tenth of the month or earlier; otherwise, accrued vacation begins the following month. Accrual continues through the month of termination if and only if the date of termination is the twentieth of the month or later.
The length of eligible service is calculated on the basis of a “benefit year.” This is the 12-month period that begins when the staff member starts to earn vacation time. A staff member’s benefit year may be extended for any leave of absence for more than 11 working days except military leave of absence. Military leave has no effect on this calculation. (See the individual leave of absence policies for more information.)
Staff members begin to earn paid vacation time according to the schedule. However, before vacation time can be used, a waiting period of 6 months must be completed. After that time, staff members can request use of earned vacation time, including that accrued during the waiting period.
Paid vacation time can be used in minimum increments of one hour. To take vacation, staff members should request advance approval from their supervisors. Requests will be reviewed based on a number of factors, including business needs and staffing requirements.
Vacation time-off is paid at the staff member’s base pay rate at the time of vacation. It does not include overtime or any special forms of compensation such as incentives, commissions, bonuses, or shift differentials.
Staff members should use available paid vacation time under this policy for rest, relaxation, and personal pursuits. Accrued vacation is to be taken within 12 months of the month in which it is earned. If vacation is not taken by the end of this period, it is lost. Staff members transferring from one department to another department within Drury University retain their accrued vacation.
Staff members who terminate following one or more years of service will generally be paid for unused accrued vacation, so long as they resign from the University and provide the minimum required notice in advance of their resignation. Employees who are terminated for cause will not generally be paid for unused accrued vacation. The maximum amount of unused accrued vacation that can be paid is for 80 hours of unused vacation, even if the employee has accrued more than 80 hours of unused vacation time.
Payment for unused accrued vacation is calculated as follows: Gross Pay = Accrued Vacation Hours x Hourly Wage rate.
University holidays occurring during a vacation are not counted as vacation days.
Serious illness occurring during vacation is considered sick leave and is not charged to vacation unless sick leave has been exhausted. Staff members are required to furnish a written physician’s statement.
Vacations cannot be taken in advance of being earned. Staff on vacation may not be employed by another department.
Coaching staff are not eligible for vacation accrual and/or payout. Coaching staff should coordinate time away from work with their supervisors but are generally not required to record time off.
