Purpose

To set forth the attendance and reporting requirements for University employees.

Applicability

This policy applies to all University employees, regardless of employment category.

Attendance

Employees are expected to attend work regularly as a basic condition of employment. Provisions are made for approved absences from work. Abuse of approved leave is considered an infraction of the rules and is subject to disciplinary action.

Punctuality

Punctuality is considered to be a basic condition of employment. Employees are to be at their duty stations at the beginning of the work day and return promptly after lunch. Employees who are consistently late reporting to work or returning from lunch may have disciplinary action taken against them.

Employees who are delayed reporting to work due to emergencies are expected to contact their department head within half an hour from the time that they were to report to work.

Making Up Time

An employee who reports to work late should make every effort to make up the time on the same day. Time lost during any one payroll period because of tardiness or absence must be made up during the same period before overtime can be earned.

Docking of Pay

Employees who are consistently late in reporting to work may have their pay docked under certain circumstances. Employees whose cumulative absences from work adds up to thirty (30) minutes or more in one work week may have that time deducted from their paycheck.

Time Reporting

All Non-Exempt employees, including those on Regular, Temporary, and Student appointments must record their attendance on the Bi-Weekly Attendance Report each time they arrive at or leave the workplace, including lunch times. The hours reported must accurately reflect the actual time that employees report to and leave the workplace each day .

Time Clocks

At the discretion of the Department Head, some employees may be required to punch a time clock to record their attendance each day. In most instances, employees who punch a time clock will be required to punch their time cards at the beginning and at the end of the work day, and at the beginning and end of their lunch period.

Each employee is required to personally punch his or her own time card. Failure to punch in or punch out at the assigned clock location, or to follow clocking instructions may result in time being docked. Employees are specifically prohibited from punching one another's time cards.

Exempt Employees

Employees in employment categories that are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act are not required by the University to submit a time sheet. However, they must account for all time not on the job during working hours by completing an Application for Leave form. Failure to account for time off by submitting approved leave documents may result in delays in release of paychecks. [See policies on Leave]

At the discretion of the Department Head, some exempt employees may be required to submit time and attendance records at the departmental level.

Failure to Comply With Attendance Reporting Regulations

Failure to follow established attendance reporting procedures will result in disciplinary action including suspension or dismissal. Falsifying attendance records, refusing to punch a time clock, or punching in for another employee are infractions of this policy, and are subject to disciplinary action.

Monitoring Compliance

Departments Heads are responsible for monitoring compliance with attendance and time reporting policies within their respective departments.

Organizational Time Sheet

All Department Heads are required to submit an Organizational Time Sheet (OTS) to the Payroll Department to account for time worked or on leave for each employee. The OTS must be signed by the Department Head in order for employees to be paid. By signing the Department Head is certifying that the hours recorded on the OTS accurately reflect the time earned and taken by the individual employees.

The Organizational Time Sheet is used by the Payroll office to enter the time that individual employees are to be paid for each payroll period. Regular time worked, compensatory time earned, and absences such as annual, sick, or leave without pay should be recorded on the OTS.

Release of Paychecks

Organizational Time Sheets, attendance reports and approved leave application forms must be submitted with all appropriate signatures at the end of each pay period according to the schedule prepared by the Human Resources Office.

Failure by the employee or the Department Head to submit properly authorized attendance, leave, or payroll documents may result in a delay in the release of payroll checks.