Work Time
All time spent by an employee performing activities that are job related and benefit the employer is considered work time. Work time includes, but is not limited to: the standard work shift, reading or answering work emails/phone calls from home, any work for the employer performed off-site, working during the meal period, etc.
The workweek for NC State runs from 12:00 am on Saturday to 11:59 pm on Friday.
Standard Work Schedule
The standard workweek for full-time SHRA employees is 40 hours per week and the normal workday schedule is eight hours per day plus a meal period, five days per week. Other schedules apply to part-time employees and some shift employees. The University and supervisors are responsible for determining the appropriate work schedules for employees based on business needs.
Employee Schedule
Full-time employment at NC State is set at 40 hours per week. Part-time employment is defined as any number of hours or FTE (full time equivalent) lower than 40 hours (1.0 FTE).
The FLSA does not set schedules or limit work hours. An employee’s schedule is established by their supervisor based on business needs and the FTE of the employee. Deviations from the set schedule must always be approved in advance by the supervisor. Hours worked by an employee without a supervisor’s permission may be grounds for disciplinary action.
Employees may not waive their rights under the FLSA and are not allowed to volunteer time or work “off the clock.” This includes time spent working at home or working during meal periods. Supervisors must approve in advance, any hours to be worked outside of an employee’s regular schedule.
Shift Premium
Shift premium pay is available to certain employees who are regularly scheduled to work on either an evening, night shift, and/or weekend shift (when determined to be necessary to be competitive with the labor market). At NC State, shift premium is paid to certain groups of employees whose majority of work hours regularly fall between 4:00 PM to 8:00 AM.
Meal Periods
The FLSA does not require meal periods or breaks. However, meal periods and breaks should be used to promote a healthy and productive workforce. At NC State, meal periods are recommended for employees who have shifts of six or more hours. Although the FLSA does not require breaks and meal periods, it does provide rules for determining compensation. Breaks (lasting no more than 15 minutes) are considered as compensable work hours that would be included in the sum of hours worked during the workweek and considered in determining if overtime was worked. Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the employer has expressly and unambiguously communicated to the employee that the authorized break may only last for a specific length of time, that any extension of the break is contrary to the employer’s rules, and any extension of the break may result in disciplinary action. Bona fide meal periods, commonly one hour in length, but can be shortened to 30 minutes with supervisor approval, serve a different purpose than breaks and, thus, are not work time and are not compensable. During meal periods, non-exempt employees should be relieved of all work duties and responsibilities. It is recommended that non-exempt employees spend their meal period away from the place of work (or at least workstation) to avoid potential interruptions of the meal period. If a meal period is interrupted by work (e.g. a request from the supervisor to perform work), the entire meal period may become compensable time. Note that a request by itself may not violate the meal period (i.e. simply asking for a report), and an employee during a meal period may reply to the request when the meal period ends without violating the meal period.
Timekeeping
SHRA, EHRA, post-doc, and temporary employees who are non-exempt must record their hours via NC State’s electronic timekeeping and leave tracking system called WolfTime. WolfTime is also used by exempt employees for leave tracking purposes. For more information, please visit the Wolftime website.