BRIEF

Policy Summary

This policy outlines the requirements for the accurate and timely reporting of effort at Berkeley Lab using the Lab Employee Time System (LETS). Each employee must report their own time worked by project/activity and any type of leave taken. Each supervisor must review and approve time reported by each of their employees.

Who Should Read This Policy

All Berkeley Lab employees

To Read the Full Policy, Go To:

The POLICY tab on this wiki page

Contact Information

Disbursements Services Manager
Payroll Manager

POLICY

A. Purpose

This policy outlines the requirements for the accurate and timely reporting of effort using Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Lab Employee Time System (LETS).

B. Persons Affected

All Berkeley Lab employees

C. Exceptions

None

D. Policy Statement

1. Each employee must report their own time worked by project/activity and any leave taken (i.e., time off). At the end of each period and prior to the time sweep, each employee is required to certify and attest to the accuracy of the time card and release for review and approval. The employee's assigned supervisor or work lead must review and approve time reported by each of their employees.
2. Accurate and timely reporting is required and enables the Laboratory to:
   1. Guarantee employees are paid correctly and their leave accruals are accurate.
   2. Ensure labor costs are properly reported by Department of Energy (DOE) Budget and Reporting classification.
   3. Monitor actual performance against funding limitations and budgetary goals.
3. Procedures
   1. LETS provides online access to time reporting and approvals for all current employees. Lab employees use their LDAP credentials to access LETS. Refer to the LETS User training for more information.

   2. The following chart details the minimum reporting requirements by employee type:

      Type of Employee	Schedule	Timecard	Minimum Reporting Unit
      Exempt (including UC faculty)	Full-time	Monthly	1/2 day
      Exempt	Part-time	Monthly	1/4 hour
      Exempt (Engineering, EH&S, and Facilities only)	Full-time	Monthly	1/4 hour (4hours for leave taken)
      Non-exempt	Full-time, part-time, and variable	Weekly	1/4 hour

   3. For employees in exempt classifications, time worked and leave taken on each project must be reported in total. It is not necessary to report the days on which the work was performed, but all leave time (time-off taken) must be reported in specific days. For employees in non-exempt classifications, time worked and leave taken must be reported in specific days.
   4. If exempt employees work more than the normal number of hours or days, they are to distribute their effort proportionally to each project they worked on, based on the total time worked.
4. Schedule and Time Changes
   1. An employee's schedule of days off, workdays, and hours per day within the specified time schedule may be varied by their supervisor to meet unusual job requirements triggering an employee status change.
   2. When clocks are changed to and from daylight savings time each year, actual hours worked should be reported. In the spring, when the time change results in a seven-hour owl shift, non-exempt employees may be scheduled for an extra hour of work or charged an hour of vacation to make an eight-hour shift. In the fall, when the time change results in a nine-hour owl shift, the additional hour (when worked) is reported as overtime.
5. Certification and Approval of Time Reports
   1. Employees must certify the accuracy of their time reported and release their timecards prior to the scheduled time sweep.
   2. Each supervisor or work lead must review the time reported by their assigned staff and must approve all of their employees' time electronically prior to the scheduled time sweep. In the absence of the supervisor (approver), a designated backup supervisor or manager may approve time. The backup approver must be the same level or above as the employee's supervisor or work lead.
   3. Work Leads: In addition to supervisors (approvers), designated work leads are also able to certify time for employees assigned to them.
      • Designated work leads must be exempt-level Berkeley Lab employees who regularly provide work direction to the person(s) for whom time is being approved. Designated work leads cannot be graduate student research assistants (GSRAs), contract workers, students, or affiliates.
      • With the approval of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a work lead will be assigned to the Lab Director. The work lead will be an exempt-level member of the Director's staff who is knowledgeable of the Director's schedule.
      • Requests for exceptions must be provided in writing and approved in advance by the CFO or their designee.
   4. Time certification by the employee, supervisor, or designated work lead may be electronic with the use of a personal password accessing LETS or, when not possible electronically, by actual signature on a time sheet produced from LETS and provided by the division timekeeper.
   5. Timecard corrections (e.g., to correct project/activity for time worked or use of leave taken) can be accomplished through LETS or through a Labor Distribution System (LDRS) labor adjustment.
      • LETS corrections that affect leave types (e.g., vacation, sick, jury duty, etc.) must be certified in the system by the employee and approved by the supervisor. If the corrected timesheet is questioned either by the employee or their supervisor, the Controller's Office can assist in the determination.
      • For LDRS labor adjustments that affect time worked on a project/activity to another project/activity, an e-mail alert will be automatically generated. This notification will be sent to the individual whose time was adjusted as well as to their manager, indicating the details of the adjustment. This notification will serve as a negative concurrence for adjustments. Should the individual or his/her supervisor not agree with the adjustment that was made, a response is required within five days. Labor adjustments over the approval thresholds identified in the Resource Adjustment policy still require approval from a designated financial approver.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Managers, supervisors, and employees have the responsibility to adhere to the provisions of this policy.

F. Definitions/Acronyms

None

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

None

H. Implementing Documents

I. Contact Information

Disbursements Services Manager Payroll Manager

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• Federal Appropriation Law
• Contract 31, I.40, FAR 52.222-4 Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act - Overtime Compensation (May 2018)

Implementing Documents