#07 - Payroll and Compensation Policy Update

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PAYROLL & COMPENSATION Employees may earn compensatory time at the rate of one- and one-half (1.5) times in lieu of overtime pay, upon mutual agreement between the employe and the employer. For most employees the workweek begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and runs until the following Friday night at midnight. Supervisors may establish a different workweek based on the needs of the department, subject to the approval of the city administrator. The employee’s supervisor must approve overtime hours in advance. An employee who works overtime without prior approval may be subject to disciplinary action. Overtime earned will be paid at the rate of time-and-one-half on the next regularly scheduled payroll date, unless the employee indicates on his/her timesheet that the overtime earned is to be recorded as compensatory time in lieu of payment, upon supervisor approval. Compensatory time balances should not exceed fifty (50) hours with a maximum carryover of forty (40) hours per year. Once an employee has accrued a balance of fifty (50) hours of compensatory time no further compensatory time may accrue. All further overtime will be paid. Employees may request and use compensatory time off in the same manner as other leave requests. All compensatory time will be marked as such on official time sheets, both when it is earned and when it is used. The Finance Department will maintain compensatory time records. As of the last pay period in November of each year, all accumulated compensatory time above the maximum carryover amount of forty (40) hours shall be paid to the employee at the hourly pay rate the employee is earning at that time. All compensatory time accrued will be paid when the employee leaves city employment at the hourly pay rate the employee is earning at that time. Exempt (Non-Overtime-Eligible) Employees Exempt employees are expected to work the hours necessary to meet the performance expectations outlined by their supervisors. Generally, to meet these expectations, and for reasons of public accountancy, an exempt employee will need to work 40 or more hours per week. Exempt employees do not receive extra pay for the hours worked over 40 in one workweek. Exempt employees are paid on a salary basis. This means they receive a predetermined amount of pay each pay period and are not paid by the hour. Their pay does not vary based on the quality or quantity of work performed, and they receive their full weekly salary for any week in which any work is performed. The City of Lake Elmo will only make deductions from the weekly salary of an exempt employee in the following situations: • The employee is in a position that does not earn vacation or personal leave and is absent for a day or more for personal reasons other than sickness or accident. • To offset compensation received for military pay. If an employee works part of the week in military service, the city must pay the entire week’s salary to the employee, but the city shall offset the amount of the military pay for the week against the employee’s salary. • The employee is in a position that earns sick leave, receives a short-term disability benefit or workers’ compensation wage loss benefits, and is absent for a full day due to sickness or disability, but he/she is either not yet qualified to use the paid leave or he/she has exhausted all of his/her paid leave. • The employee is absent for a full workweek, and for whatever reason, the absence is not charged to paid leave (for example, a situation where the employee has exhausted all of his/her paid leave or a situation where the employee does not earn paid leave). • The very first workweek or the very last workweek of employment with the city in which the employee does not work a full week. In this case, the city will prorate the employee’s salary based on the time actually worked. • The employee is in a position that earns paid leave and is absent for a partial day due to personal reasons, illness, or injury, but: o Paid leave has not been requested or has been denied. o Paid leave is exhausted.