Payroll Guidelines

Guidelines for recording and approving time

Time entry

• All non-exempt (AKA hourly) staff members are paid on a biweekly basis. Each work week begins at 12:00 a.m. Thursday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Paychecks are distributed on Thursday, one week following the end of the pay period.
• All non-exempt staff are expected to work their scheduled hours and are required to document the actual hours they have worked each work week.
• When an employee submits/approves time collection data, he/she is attesting to the accuracy of that data. Knowingly approving inaccurate time collection data is in violation of university policy and illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and may subject the person(s) to disciplinary/legal action (up to and including discharge).
• All non-exempt staff must record all time worked, including time worked over 40 hours per week. At Cornell, overtime pay is based on hours paid during the standard work week. Overtime pay is calculated at the rate of one and one-half times the covered non-exempt staff’s regular rate of pay. When non-exempt staff hold more than one position at different hourly rates of pay, overtime is calculated at the rate of one and one-half times the weighted average of all hourly rates during the work period for which the calculation is made.
• Employees are required to obtain supervisory approval prior to working any overtime hours. Alternate, flexible work schedules may be used during the course of the work week, with supervisory approval, to avoid incurring overtime. However, if an employee works unapproved overtime during the work week, those hours must be paid.
• The supervisor who signs the timecard must have direct/personal knowledge of the hours worked by the staff member and must not “adjust the books” or ask a staff member to record more or less hours than were actually worked. Such an action is not only a violation of university policy but is also illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act and may subject the staff member and/or supervisor to disciplinary/legal action (up to and including discharge).

Related human resources policies

• 6.7.9 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• 6.7.11 Time Collection
• 6.7.10 Standard Workweek and Pay Periods
• 6.7.12 Overtime

Guidelines for meal periods

Meal periods

• Lunch: If a non-exempt staff member works more than six hours that include 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the department must provide, and the staff member must take, at least 30 minutes for a meal period between 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Such meal period must be taken and completed within the 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. timeframe.
• Dinner: If a non-exempt staff member works a shift that begins before 11:00 a.m. and continues later than 7:00 p.m., the staff member must take and complete an additional meal period of at least 20 minutes between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
• Late night: If a non-exempt staff member works a shift of more than six hours which begins between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., the employee must take a meal period of at least 30 minutes at a time approximately mid-way between the beginning and the end of the shift.
• Other: If a particular example is not covered by the above examples, then whenever a non-exempt staff member works a shift of more than six hours, the staff member must take a meal period of at least 30 minutes at a time approximately halfway between the beginning and the end of a shift.
• Time taken for such meal periods is unpaid time.