POLICY

A. Purpose

The Overtime and Extended Workweek policy establishes a process for overtime and the granting of extended workweek pay. This policy provides information about overtime calculation for non-exempt employees, and extended workweeks for exempt employees.

B. Persons Affected

This policy applies to all non-represented employees. Employees who are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent should refer to their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

C. Exceptions

Requests that exceed what is allowed under current policy or that are not expressly addressed by current policy are considered exceptions to policy. A request for an exception to policy requires, at a minimum, the approval of the Chief Human Resources Officer.

D. Policy Statement

1. Overtime is time worked beyond the hours of a full-time day or beyond 40 hours in a week. Employees who are classified as nonexempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are eligible for overtime compensation. Please refer to the full policy for important exceptions to these general rules:
   1. Only non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay.
   2. All overtime must be approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor. The employee and supervisor will discuss the need for working overtime in advance of the overtime being worked. The communication mechanism (e.g., verbal discussion, email notification) is at the discretion of the supervisor.
   3. All overtime must be compensated, even if not approved in advance.
   4. Granting compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay is prohibited.
2. For employees, who are classified as exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), greater emphasis is placed on meeting the responsibilities assigned to them than on working the specified number of hours. Exempt employees do not receive overtime compensation or compensatory time off.
3. An extended workweek is a planned schedule exceeding the normal 40-hour workweek for more than four consecutive weeks at a regular Berkeley Lab site or a temporary assignment at locations away from regular Laboratory sites. Employees on a pre-approved extended workweek are paid based on the planned schedule.
4. Pay for Overtime. Overtime for non-exempt employees will be paid at the rate of 1 ½ times the regular hourly rate for hours worked in excess of eight hours per day or 40 hours per week. 
5. Pay for Overtime Meals. Employees may be paid overtime for meals if approved by their supervisor and one of the following conditions applies:
   1. The work situation requiring the overtime is such that the employee is held over or called in early, without prior notice, so that the combined regular shift and overtime assignment totals a minimum of two hours over the regular work shift or
   2. The work situation requiring the overtime is such that the employee is called in, without prior notice, on a day off, holiday, or call-back basis for a minimum of 5 hours.
6. Shift Differential
   1. General. A shift differential is extra pay in addition to base pay for non-day shift work. A non-exempt employee is paid this differential when required to work on an assigned swing or owl shift. The amount of the differential is 7.5 percent for swing shift and 15% for owl shift. For purposes of computing shift pay, a swing shift consists of the hours from 4:00 p.m. to midnight, and an owl shift from midnight to 8:00 a.m. To qualify for payment of shift differential, a minimum of four hours must be scheduled during the above periods. Work scheduled during the swing or owl shifts for the convenience of the employee is not considered an assigned swing or owl shift for purposes of this policy and no differential will be paid.
   2. Overtime. Overtime pay for employees who receive shift differential pay and who work during non-day shifts (see Section D.6.a, General, above) is based on the employee’s base pay and shift rate.
   3. Temporary Assignments. Employees who usually work a swing or owl shift continue to receive the shift differential when assigned temporarily by their supervisor to a day shift for four days or less. A change in shift assignment initiated by the employee is not covered by this provision and no differential will be paid.
   4. Paid Leave. Shift differential is included for all types of paid leave based on the shift an employee would have worked.
   5. Terminal Vacation Pay. Terminal vacation is paid at the appropriate shift differential rate when the employee has been permanently assigned to swing or owl shift or when a temporary swing or owl shift has extended over 90 days.
7. Pay for Travel Time (Nonexempt Employees). Travel between an employee’s home and the workplace is not considered time worked. Travel on Laboratory business during an employee’s normal working hours (including travel during those hours on the employee’s day off) is considered time worked. Travel outside normal working hours is considered time worked when it occurs on a scheduled day of work and is to or from a work location outside the normal commuting area of the assigned workplace.
8. Call-In Pay. Non-exempt employees who are called in for short jobs outside their regular weekly schedule will be paid for a minimum of four hours or the hours worked, whichever is greater. Such pay will include shift differential and overtime if appropriate. Represented employees should refer to their collective bargaining agreement.
9. Extended Workweeks
   1. An extended workweek is a planned schedule exceeding the normal 40-hour workweek for more than four consecutive weeks at a regular Laboratory site or a temporary assignment at locations away from regular laboratory sites. Exempt or non-exempt employees may qualify.
   2. Requests for extended workweeks must be made in writing to the division director or designee. Approval of such requests applies only to the individual(s) named and is not transferable to others.
   3. Pay for extended workweeks:
      1. Non-exempt employees are paid at the regular overtime rate.
      2. Full-time exempt employees are paid for extended workweeks on the basis of the formally approved schedule on file in the Payroll Office for each week the extended schedule is shown on the time report submitted by the division. The formula used to determine extended workweek pay is based on the percent of additional hours worked per month.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

None

H. Implementing Documents

None

I. Contact Information

For more information, employees may contact their division's HR Field team. Feedback on HR policies or procedures is welcomed. Send comments to [email protected].

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• Contract 31, Clause I.040, FAR 52.222-4, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards - Overtime Compensation (MAY 2018) (prev. I.021)
  
• Contract 31, Clause I.130, DEAR 970.5222-2, Overtime Management (DEC 2000) (SC alternate APR 2008) (prev. I.085)

• University of California Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) 30, Compensations

• Fair Labor Standards Act

Implementing Documents

None