Minimize Retroactivity

• Currently, almost all approved permanent changes to base salary are retroactive.
• Retroactive pay is reported to the Board of Regents on an annual basis.
• Implementing prescribed effective dates for salary increases minimizes occurrences of retroactive pay.

Improve Efficiency and Promote Transparency

• Departments, HR and Payroll can plan and execute salary increases more efficiently, reducing the time and resources required.
• Streamlines the administrative process associated with managing compensation. 
• A set schedule for salary increases promotes transparency and fosters trust and open communication within the organization.

Contribute to Workforce Planning Strategies

• A predictable cycle enables better financial planning and budgeting. 
• Departments can anticipate when salary increases will occur and allocate resources accordingly, reducing surprises and potential financial strain.
• Defined cycles prompts regular conversations between managers and employees about performance, goals, and compensation expectations.

• Utilize stipends to compensate employees for performing significant additional duties in lieu of delaying the request for a permanent change to base salary. 
  • This ensures the employee is receiving the appropriate compensation when the work commences and avoids retroactivity.
• Partner with Financial Planning, Budget & Analysis to determine the appropriate costing allocations.
• Establish internal processes. Business managers, HR liaisons, and HR business partners should establish internal processes and deadlines to ensure requests are routed in Workday to the classification and compensation department by the review period end dates. 

The following outline one example of how to use the new cycle schedule. 

• A manager has submitted their resignation, effective June 1, 2024.
• It’s decided the manager role is no longer needed and functions can be distributed between the manager’s two subordinates.
• The department should submit a stipend request as soon as possible.
• A permanent change to base salary request can be submitted, based on expansion of duties, during Cycle 2 submission period, which is July 15 through July 19, for an October 2, 2024 effective date.

• Organizational Restructuring: In cases where a department or division undergoes an organizational restructuring due to unforeseen circumstances. Contact Employee Relations for more information.
• Equity Based a Protected Class, Reason “B”: When a perceived inequity is based on a protected class, requests should be submitted to the Office of Equal Employment & Title IX. Requests can also be initiated by a supervisor on the employee’s behalf in a proactive manner, with the employee’s agreement.
• Stipends: Stipends can continue to be submitted in Workday at any time throughout the year with no requirement to follow the cycle schedule. Stipends will be reviewed within 15-20 calendar days. 
• Other Exceptions: Any other cases for exceptions to the cycle schedule require the approval from the following:
  • The vice president of Human Resources and chief people officer or designee,
  • The appointing authority, and
  • The associate vice president for financial planning, budget, & analysis or designee.

Contact your classification and compensation analyst for more information.

Please note the following before beginning your requests:

• Requests must be routed and received in Workday by the class and comp. team by the end date of each period.
• Requests should only be submitted for the current period. This will ensure there are no errors when processing cost of living adjustments and allows the classification and compensation team to manage workload and meet internal deadlines.

Steps to Follow

1. Complete the Questionnaire for Permanent Change to Base Salary Google form
   1. Carefully review the instructions. This questionnaire must be completed along with the official request in Workday, as it serves as a supplement to the official request.
2. Attach the following documents to the Workday business process:
   1. Revised Position Description Questionnaire (PDQ)
   2. Organizational Chart
   3. Employee Resume / CV
3. Initiate the Workday business process
   1. For promotions: Initiate Job Change > Administrative Promotion
   2. For additional duties assigned, initiate either:
      1. Job Change > Administrative Promotion, or
      2. Request Compensation Change>Base Salary Change>Market/Equity Adjustment.
      3. Note: The Compensation/Classification team will confirm appropriate action/code upon review.
   3. For equity: Initiate Request Compensation Change > Base Salary Change > Market/Equity Adjustment

• Review the Stipend Guidelines
• Complete the Stipend Request form
• Complete the Workday business process
  1. Initiate Compensation > Request Compensation Change > Variable Compensation Change > Flat Amount Stipend Change

The current Workday submission period is closed. All requests routed to the Classification and Compensation department from July 15-19, 2024 will be reviewed.

The classification and compensation team will have all timely received reviews completed by Oct. 1, 2024 with three possible outcomes:

1. Request is approved and the Workday business process is advanced forward
2. Request is approved with modifications and the business process is returned to the initiator for action.
3. Request is denied and returned to the initiator with the review released to the appointing authority/designee outlining reasons for denial.
4. Departments/initiators should track actions to full completion for timely monthly payment, items must be processed by the October 2024 pay compute date.

Note: Reviews for academic areas reporting to the Provost will be released to the appointing authority/designees (Provost Office) for formal approval. The Provost Office will release reviews to departments on a timely basis complying with expected processing windows.

Reviews for departments under the Human Resources business partner model will be reviewed by senior HR business partners and will be released accordingly by them to requestors.

Eligible employees are expected to see new COLA inclusive salaries on October 1st (for monthly).

An initial mass load to process increases for employee’s COLA is completed by central human resources around mid-July.

It is the departments/HR liaison responsibility to review all department employee records and ensure accuracy and report to Human Resources prior to payout of the first COLA inclusive paycheck.

Employees should contact their home department/HR liaison to report any errors.

Departments/HR liaison Responsibilities include:

• Review all employee records to ensure accuracy.
• Review all employee records to ensure employee who have receive COLA meet eligibility guidelines distributed.
• Report any mistakes to Human Resources to address prior to payout and by stated deadlines.
• Ensure compensation history and grade placements are accurate for the employee.
• Run reports as necessary to ensure appropriate active compensation and compensation history is accurate.
• Addressing overpayment and underpayments for processing and, notifying employees if errors have occurred. 

Timeline:

July 15: Workday expected to reflect new salaries under compensation history for classified staff effective October 1st (visible to department HR partners/liaisons)

July 15 – August 30: Departments to verify Workday records for all administrative employees and address correction via google form:

August 30: Deadline for departments to submit corrections/rescinds to Human Resources

October 1: Workday expected to reflect new salaries for administrative staff

November 1: Monthly paycheck (1st paycheck reflecting new COLA inclusive salaries for eligible staff)

Reminders:

In progress compensation actions will cause issues with uploads, items must be successfully completed prior to adding COLA. Compensation freeze is in place as previously announced.

Cycle submission for compensation changes effective October 2, 2024 occurs July 15th-July 19th, you must ensure October 1st effective COLA is processed for employees prior to initiating subsequent compensation change actions.

• Employees are eligible for overtime compensation when the employee works an excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Overtime must be approved by the employee’s supervisor in advance.
• Employees who work overtime without authorization are subject to disciplinary action.
• The "workweek" is a calendar week, running from 12:01 a.m. Sunday to 12:00 p.m. Saturday.*
• Annual leave, sick leave, use of compensatory time and paid holidays are not counted toward time worked for overtime calculation purposes.
• Departments are encouraged to use flexible schedules to limit overtime costs and demands upon employees.
• In order to ensure a proper work and personal life balance and to protect employees from excessive work schedules and to limit an employer's cost liabilities, overtime must be kept to a minimum.

*Select departments on campus may have a different standard workweek, please consult with department business manager.

GENERAL RULE

Excluding normal commuting time, employees should be compensated for all travel unless it is:

1. overnight;
2. outside of regular work hours;
3. on a common carrier or as a passenger
4. where no work is done.

However, special rules apply to special situations.

COMMUTE TIME

• Generally, an employee is not at work until he or she reaches the work site.
• But, if the employee is required to report to a meeting place where he or she is to pick up materials, equipment, or other employees, or to receive instructions before traveling to the work site, time is compensable once the employee reaches the meeting place.
• If the employee drives a state vehicle, to and from work, he or she does not have to be compensated for that commuting time as long as:

1. driving the vehicle between home and work is strictly voluntary and not a condition of employment;
2. the vehicle is a type normally used for commuting;
3. the employee incurs no costs for driving the employer’s vehicle or parking it at home; and
4. the work sites are within normal commuting area of the employer’s place of business.

TRAVEL DURING THE WORKDAY

Travel as a part of the employer’s principal activity must be counted as hours worked. If the travel is for the benefit of the employer, it is compensable. Example: the employee travels from job site to job site during the workday.

If the employee stops at a shop or the home office for his or her own convenience, the time traveling from the office to the site is not compensable.

Time spent by the driver in picking up other passengers and transporting them to a specific location is work time and therefore compensable. Time spent by passengers traveling in a car outside the normal workday hours is not compensable.

Regular meal period time is not considered compensable time.

OUT OF TOWN TRAVEL – SPECIAL ONE-DAY ASSIGNMENT

If the employee is assigned to work in another city for one day and the travel is performed at the employer’s request and for the employer’s benefit, it is part of the principal activity of the employer and therefore is compensable. This is true even if the employee is traveling by common carrier since this is a special assignment and is not ordinary home to work travel. The assignment is performed for the employer’s benefit and at the employer’s special request to meet the needs of the particular and unusual assignment.

However, in this special one-day assignment travel time between the employee’s home and the airport or railway station is home to work travel time and therefore not compensable.

To the extent that an employee performs work while traveling, e.g. preparing for a meeting, reviewing documents, making telephone calls, this time constitutes hours worked even if the travel time would otherwise not be compensable.

Single day out-of-town travel is considered hours worked, excluding a meal period. For example, a non-exempt employee whose normal work hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. is given an assignment to be in Reno for one day and return that evening. The non- exempt employee leaves the University (or his/her home) at 7:00 a.m., the meeting is over at 3:00 p.m., and the employee arrives back at the University (or his/her home) at 7:00 p.m. In this case, the travel time between 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. is considered as hours worked and the three hours count towards calculating eligibility for overtime over 40 hours. Assuming that the non-exempt employee did not perform any other extra work during the work week, the employee worked 43.0 hours in the work week, and would be eligible for 4 and ½ hours of compensatory time.

OVERNIGHT TRAVEL

Travel performed at the request and for the benefit of the employer that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home.

Travel away from home is clearly work time when it cuts across the employee’s regular workday hours and is compensable. If this travel occurs during normal work hours on non-working days (i.e. Saturday or Sunday for an employee who works Monday through Friday) the time is also compensable.

Time the employee spends in overnight travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile and the employee is free to relax, is not considered compensable time. If the employee is the driver of the vehicle, the employee must be compensated as driving is work time. To the extent that an employee performs work while traveling, e.g. preparing for a meeting, reviewing documents, making telephone calls, this time constitutes hours worked even if the travel time would otherwise not be compensable.

Example: Employee drives to the airport to attend a seminar and has two co–workers as passengers with him. If the trip is made before or after normal work hours, only the driver receives compensation as only the driver is working. If the trip is made during normal work hours, all three employees are compensated because travel during normal work time is compensable.

Time spent at a motel with freedom to use time for the employee’s own purposes is not compensable.

More Examples: An employee who regularly works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday is assigned overnight travel. The employee travels on business to a location that requires two hours of travel time. The employee leaves Friday at 8 a.m., arrives at the work location at 10 a.m. and works until 5 p.m. on Friday. The employee should be compensated for 8 hours of work on Friday. The employee begins work at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, takes an hour meal break, and returns home on Saturday at 2 p.m. Since the employee worked and traveled for 5 hours on Saturday during hours that would be considered normal work hours on a non-working day, the employee would be eligible for 7.5 hours of compensatory time on Saturday.

An employee who regularly works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday is assigned work out of town. On Friday, the employee works at his regular job location until 4 p.m. and then travels by bus to an out of town work location, arriving at 6 p.m. The employee should be compensated for 8 hours on Friday, since with overnight travel only the travel time that overlaps the employee’s regular working hours must be paid. On Saturday, the employee works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an hour meal break. The employee then leaves to travel home by bus, arriving at 6 p.m. Since only the travel  time that overlaps the employee’s regular working hours on a non-working day must be paid, the employee is eligible for 12 hours of compensatory time. (8 hours x 1.5)

Regular meal period time is not considered compensable time.

TRAINING TIME

Generally, when the employer permits or requires a non-exempt employee to attend training, such time is considered as hours worked unless all four of the following criteria are met: 1) attendance is outside of the employee’s regular work hours; 2) attendance is voluntary; 3) the course, lecture, or meeting is not directly related to the employee’s job; and 4) the employee does not perform any productive work for the employer during such training.