The terms “monthly-paid” and “exempt” are used interchangeably. “Exempt” employees are not entitled to overtime (they are exempt from overtime) under the Fair Labor Standards Act when they work more than 40 hours in a week.
Exempt employees are not paid by the hour, but instead receive a set salary regardless of the number of hours they work in a week. In essence, they are expected to devote the amount of time necessary to accomplish the work. In practice, exempt employees will occasionally average more than 40 hours a week. Therefore, if an exempt employee has an appointment that can’t be scheduled outside of work hours or an urgent personal matter, there is some flexibility in recording the time off. To stay in alignment with the University Standard Practice Guide, Taubman College has adopted the following protocol for recording these types of time off.
How to Report Hours
Monthly-paid (exempt) employees will round time off for vacation and sickness/doctor appointments to the nearest 4 hour increment (0, 4 or 8 hours).
Responsibilities:
- Keep your supervisor informed (in advance for planned time off) of appointments, vacation requests, illness, and the need to come in late or leave early.
- Rounding your hours of absence is not to be interpreted as the ability to regularly work less than 40 hours. Remember that you bear the responsibility for managing your work schedule wisely.
Absences for vacation and illness will be reported as follows:
| Total Absence | Exception Time Reporting |
| Less than 2 hours | No exception time |
| At least 2 hours but less than 6 hours | 4 hours |
| 6 or more hours | 8 hours |
Flexible Work Schedule
Exempt employees may occasionally have a flexible work schedule with their supervisor’s permission. This may apply when employees have an increased workload requirement for an extended period or during peak timeframes. For example, if there is a student event on the weekend and they will work Friday evening through Sunday, they may be able to flex by working fewer hours earlier in the same work week with pre-approval from their supervisor. However, use of flex time should remain informal and infrequent. Hour for hour replacements are not permissible. Flex scheduling is not a legally required practice but makes good sense when considering operational requirements and work/life balance.
Having every staff member follow these procedures will provide a consistent basis for recording time off. Any questions related to timekeeping can be sent to taubmancollegehr@umich.edu.