To ensure compliance with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as it relates to designating employees as exempt or non-exempt, non-exempt employees will be required to report hours worked in MaineStreet Time and Labor Timesheet. Authorized Time Approvers will review the time and approve as appropriate.
FLSA is a Federal Employee Protection Act that includes provisions which prohibit child labor, set minimum wage, require overtime pay, require equal pay and require record keeping. FLSA governs the distinction between exempt status (not eligible for overtime pay) and non-exempt or hourly status (eligible for overtime pay). An employee has to be either exempt or non-exempt in totality, not each position.
Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempt certain computer employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at a set amount of pay. Job titles do not determine exempt status. In order for an exemption to apply, an employee’s specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements of the Department’s regulations. For details regarding each exemption, visit www.dol.gov/whd/overtime/fs17a_overview.htm
When the state laws differ from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees. Maine FLSA exempt employees include a salaried employee who works in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity and whose regular compensation exceeds 3000 times the State's minimum hourly wage or the annualized rate established by the United States Department of Labor under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, whichever is higher. Employees earning less than 3000 times minimum wage will be paid on the biweekly payroll to comply with Maine Statute 621-A.
Work not requested but suffered or permitted to be performed is compensable work time that must be paid for by the University. For example, an employee may voluntarily continue to work at the end of the shift to finish an assigned task or to correct errors. The reason is immaterial. The hours are work time and are compensable and must be entered on the Timesheet corresponding with an hourly rate. See Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for details.
RELATED DOCUMENTATION
- Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Fact Sheet #17S: Higher Education Institutions and Overtime Pay Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)
- Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping Requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)
- Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)
- UMS: Overview (8:37): https://youtu.be/bB9ABNsa9Vs
UMS: What is Considered Work (Paid Time)? (20:07): https://youtu.be/IC8cpTGMs8M
Maine Department of Labor
- University Information
