Determining Time Worked

The purpose of paid leave is to maintain employee income, not enhance it. If employees work additional hours outside their normal schedule in a work week in which they also have scheduled or taken time off, the additional time worked "offsets" the time that the employee intended to cover with available leave or paid time off (PTO). Therefore, the number of leave or PTO hours originally charged must be reduced by the number of additional hours worked. This offset is mandatory; the employee cannot be paid both for the leave time and the additional work time unless provided by this policy.

For the purposes of this policy, paid time off (PTO) refers to:

• Compensatory Time Off (SPA Non-Exempt)
• Compensatory Time (SPA Exempt)
• Holiday Equal Time Off (ETO)
• On-Call Time Off (OCTO)
• Adverse Weather Emergency Employee ETO
• Travel Time ETO
• Paid Leave Award

The following process should be followed in determining the use of paid leave and paid time off for the work week.

To determine hours worked in a work week, first document the number of hours actually worked each day by the employee during the work week (Monday through Sunday). If total hours worked are equal to or greater than the employee's regularly scheduled number of hours, then no offsetting leave or PTO can be applied to that work week, unless covered by the exceptions noted below (see next section).

The following programs are not offset by time worked and may result in an SPA non-exempt employee receiving pay for more than his/her regular number of hours in a work week. These hours are guaranteed, but do not contribute to time worked for the purposes of calculating overtime pay (ie, they are paid as additional "straight-time" hours).

PAID HOLIDAY:  Employees will receive their full paid holiday, regardless of the number of hours worked in the work week, UNLESS the employee works on the paid holiday itself.  In that case, the employee "eats up" his/her paid holiday hours for the portion worked.  (However, when employees are required to work on the Holiday, they will earn a pro-rated Holiday ETO for all or part of the time worked.)

PAID CALLBACK HOURS NOT WORKED:  Because of the minimum 2-hour pay guarantee for callback time (return to worksite), the employee will receive the portion of the 2 hours that is not worked as additional pay, and those hours will not be offset by additional hours worked.

CIVIL LEAVE:  Time spent on jury duty (or when subpoenaed as a witness) that occurs during the employee's regular work schedule will not be offset by additional hours worked.  

TRAVEL TIME ETO ACCRUAL:  Travel Time ETO accrued in a work week will not be offset by additional hours worked because it is based in the specific dates and time of the multi-day work-related travel.

There is no provision in this policy for deferring payment for the above-listed additional time to a later pay week. The additional time must be paid out as it is received to SPA non-exempt employees. (There is no additional compensation or time off allowed for SPA exempt employees.)

See the individual policies for more information on these programs, and see "Related Subjects" below for examples of these situations.

If total hours worked (including any Paid Holiday, Paid Callback, and Civil Leave, as noted above) are less than employees' regularly scheduled number of hours:

1. Identify total hours necessary to get employee's time record up to the employee's regularly scheduled number of hours for the work week.
2. Identify reason(s) for absence(s) during employee's regular schedule.
3. Apply the leave or PTO in the following order of priority use:
   1. Any occurrence of Administrative Absence, Communicable Disease Leave, or Adverse Weather Leave Condition III.
   2. Any occurrence of Adverse Weather Leave Condition I or II (at the employee's discretion, otherwise the employee may apply available vacation, bonus, or PTO).
   3. Any occurrence of Community Service Leave, Military Leave, or  Educational Leave.
4. If none of the above apply to the absence(s) or do not fulfill the employee's regular number of work hours for the work week, apply other leave or PTO as appropriate in the following order of priority use:
   1. Any accrued Paid Leave Award.
   2. Any accrued Holiday ETO.
   3. Any accrued Compensatory Time Off, Compensatory Time, Adverse Weather ETO, or Travel Time ETO.
   4. Any accrued On-Call Time Off.
   5. Any Vacation, Bonus, or Sick Leave as allowed by policy.
   6. NOTE: Family & Medical Leave or Family Illness Leave designation (and related Voluntary Shared Leave) may be used concurrently with Vacation, Bonus, or Sick Leave, or any other available PTO, as provided by policy.
5. Exception: Employees may take leave without pay before coding paid leave or PTO if:
   1. the absence is covered under Family & Medical Leave or Family Illness Leave, as allowed by those policies, OR 
   2. the employee will be out longer than 10 days for any reason, OR 
   3. the employee will be out for less than 10 days for non-vacation reason.
6. Shared Leave donations may be used only for approved absences when no other leave or PTO is available for use.
7. If the employee does not have leave or PTO available to fulfill the employee's regular work schedule for the work week:
   1. The department may advance vacation or sick leave, as applicable, to cover the absence but is not required to do so, and may only advance the amount accruable through the end of calendar year, OR
   2. Any remaining amount must be deducted from the employee's paycheck by indicating Leave Without Pay for the hours, by processing a dock-in-pay, or by setting in HRIS a temporary change in FTE for the work week.

Employees are responsible for reporting to their supervisors any additional hours worked as they occur so that the supervisors may decide if any adjustments need to be made to the work schedule in order to avoid additional cost for the work week.

If you have questions regarding the appropriate application of offsetting to a work week, or about your current leave/PTO balances, visit the TIM website or contact your department's TIM Administrator.

If you have questions about this policy, contact the Employment, Classification and Compensation Specialist in the Office of Human Resources assigned to work with your department.