6.1 Staff Compensation Program
The two publications below explain the staff compensation program.
The Staff Compensation Program Overview is an informative description of the program. It addresses program highlights and covers areas useful for staff interested in learning more about their compensation program.
The Administrative Guidelines provide greater detail on the practices and administrative procedures of the Staff Compensation Program. This will be a useful document for managers and supervisors. Staff are welcome to utilize this document as well for further program details.
As described in the Administrative Guidelines, the College's program relies on the tools below for assigning positions to a Career Band and Level.
6.2 Job Descriptions
The job description summarizes the purpose of a job, its primary responsibilities, and the minimum qualifications needed to perform the job in terms of education (or equivalent experience), experience, special skills, etc. Submit descriptions electronically in MS Word to Human Resources. Human Resources maintains job descriptions. The Human Resources generalists can assist in updating or creating job descriptions. A Website is available which allows for on-demand viewing of all job descriptions at the following link:
http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/hr/job_descriptions/.
6.3 Eligibility for Overtime and FLSA Compliance
Middlebury College conforms to all terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act (also known as the Federal Wage and Hour Law), including the payment of minimum wages and overtime pay. These laws establish the criteria for determining which positions are "non-exempt" (eligible to receive overtime pay), and which are "exempt" (not eligible to receive overtime pay). Human Resources is responsible for ensuring compliance with such laws, including the determination of exempt and non-exempt status. Direct questions concerning exempt and non-exempt status of positions to Human Resources.
Executive, administrative, and professional positions that meet specific federal criteria are exempt positions and will be paid a fixed salary based on a standard number of hours worked per pay period. No overtime is paid for hours worked in excess of a standard 40-hour week.
Positions that do not meet the federal exempt criteria are non-exempt positions that receive overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half times the regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in one week. For the purpose of computing overtime compensation, CTO, paid holidays, and paid sick leave reserve are counted as time worked.
Overtime for non-exempt employees: It is the policy of the College to accomplish its work within normal work schedules without unreasonable overtime. Some positions, however, by the nature of their responsibilities and the demands of the academic year, require irregular and heavy work schedules. All employees may be asked to work extra hours as needed. Overtime assignments will be distributed as equitably as practicable to all employees qualified to perform the required work. Employees should not work overtime without prior approval from their supervisor. However, once the work has occurred all overtime will be paid. Failure to receive prior approval will be addressed as a performance issue.
Each biweekly pay period consists of two Monday through Sunday work weeks. Each work week stands alone for the purposes of determining overtime. Averaging over any period beyond the seven day work week is prohibited. The first 40 hours worked, or a combination of worked hours, CTO, SLR, and paid holidays are paid at straight time. Any time worked after the 40th hour is paid as overtime.
Example: Monday, eight hours; Tuesday, eight hours; Thursday, eight hours; Friday, four hours; Saturday, eight hours; Sunday, eight hours for a total of 44 hours. The overtime hours are the last four hours worked on Sunday, not the four hours worked on Friday. Time cards and paper and electronic timesheets must be coded accordingly to ensure proper payment of overtime.
An exception to charging the last hours over 40 as overtime will be made in cases where an employee holds two non-exempt positions, such as a full-time primary job and a secondary on-call position. In that case overtime will be charged to the secondary position for any hours over 40 in a workweek.
Compensatory time: Compensatory time (Comp time) is not permitted. This is the practice of saving or holding extra hours worked to be exchanged for time off or paid at a later time, to avoid payment of overtime. All hours worked must be reported in the period they are worked and will be paid on the standard biweekly pay cycle.
6.4 Shift Differentials
Middlebury College provides an hourly wage supplement, or shift differential, to non-exempt employees who work between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. The purpose of shift differentials is to recognize that these hours, while essential to operate the facilities of the College, are generally more challenging for staff members to work.
Shift Identification:
Day Shift Period: Hours between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.;
Evening Shift Period: Hours between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m.;
Night Shift Period: Hours between 12 a.m. and 7 a.m.
All non-exempt employees are paid an additional $.60 per hour for each hour worked in the evening shift period and an additional $1.50 per hour for each hour worked in the night shift period. Shifts are identified in BannerWeb as Shift 1 (day), Shift 2 (evening), and Shift 3 (nights). For example, an employee who works 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. would enter 3 hours in Shift 2 (9 p.m.–12 a.m.) and 5 hours in Shift 3 (12 a.m.–5 a.m.). Shift differentials are paid only for hours worked and are included in the calculation of overtime pay rates. Differentials are not paid for CTO, SLR, bereavement, holiday, and other time off.
Departmental exceptions to this policy must be approved by Human Resources. Shift differential amounts will be reviewed yearly.
6.5 Compensation Issue Resolution Process
If employees disagree with any decisions from Human Resources related to their compensation, they should review the disagreement with their supervisor and department head. The supervisor and department head should be sure that the employee's expectations under the compensation program are reasonable and that the employee understands the program as it relates his or her particular situation. Following the evaluation, if the supervisor determines there needs to be further review, the supervisor or department head and the employee should make an appointment with Human Resources to discuss the position and the decision. Human Resources will reevaluate its original position in light of any new information. The decision resulting from the Human Resources review will be final.