Attendance Guidelines

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments.

Exempt Employees (paid monthly salary): Staff and who are not entitled to overtime pay or compensatory time off in accordance with the FLSA. Exempt employees are not required to record time worked, but must record time off through Workday. Exempt employees are paid on a monthly basis. Typically, it is expected that exempt employees will work a minimum of 40 hours per week.

Non-Exempt Employees (paid biweekly): Staff and most student employees who are entitled to overtime pay or compensatory time off in accordance with the FLSA. Non-exempt employees are required to record both their time worked and time off requests in Workday. Non-exempt employees are paid on a bi-weekly basis. Generally, student employees are not eligible for paid time off.

No Call/No Show: Failing to report to work as scheduled and failing to call in according to call-in procedures as determined by the supervisor and unit.

Family Medical Leave/Workers Compensation – these leave types should not be used prior to a discussion and proper documentation and approval by the unit Human Resources Professional.

Unplanned Absence: Any unexpected time off request that results in the use of Sick Time Off, Leave Without Pay, and/or Vacation in lieu of Sick Time Off. JGC Attendance Guidelines (2021)

Pre-Scheduled Sick Time Off: Sick time off requested and approved by the supervisor at least 24 hours in advance of the time off. For absences of three consecutive days or more, medical documentation is required.

Planned Absence: Any absence arranged and approved by supervisor prior to taking time off.

Employees are expected to work their scheduled hours or submit a request in Workday for approval for paid or unpaid time off, in accordance with OSU policies, each week to meet the hours associated with their FTE. All time off requests must be approved by the employee’s supervisor. The university supports flexible work arrangements when deemed possible by the employing unit. These arrangements should be arranged and documented in accordance with the college’s Flexible Work Arrangement Guidelines.

All Employees are expected to report to work at the beginning of the scheduled shift on time, and to leave and return from meals or breaks as scheduled. Employees are expected to be working during the time they are scheduled.

Documenting Time Worked (employees paid biweekly): Non-exempt employees have the primary responsibility to accurately record time worked and follow procedures to ensure compliance with the FLSA. This includes accurately tracking one’s time through the Workday system and submitting time off requests with supporting documentation as appropriate.

• Employee timesheets are due by Monday at 10:00AM for the prior week to ensure on-time payment in accordance with the university payroll schedule. Late timesheet submission may result in a delay in pay.
• Biweekly employees should not perform work outside scheduled times unless the employee has prior authorization from his/her supervisor. All time worked must be logged but work that is performed without approval is subject to disciplinary action.
• Overtime must be pre-approved by the employee’s supervisor. If total timesheet hours exceed 40 during a week that contains vacation, sick time off, or comp time taken and regular worked hours, the employee may be required to reduce time off hours to eliminate the accrual of overtime.
• Employees will be removed from active OSU employment status after 120 days of payroll inactivity (excludes employees with approved absence).

Exempt Employees (employees paid monthly) are not required to record time worked. Full time exempt employees are expected to average at least 40 hours per week and may be required to work more than 40 hours per week to fulfill their position responsibilities. To fit the needs of the business, a standard work shift is not always possible. It is the responsibility of the exempt employee to follow direction from management on the hours they should arrive for work to maintain regular and consistent attendance.

Reporting Unplanned Absences:
All employees are expected to comply with the specific call-in requirements as determined by their supervisor. All employees are required to indicate the general reason for the absence at the time of call-in and on their request for time off (if they are eligible for time off). Time off requests must be submitted to the supervisor via Workday no later than one week after the employee returns to work. For sick time off absences of three consecutive days or more, medical documentation is required. Employees are required to notify their supervisor each day of absence unless proper documentation has been submitted and approved in advance. Consecutive vacation time off of more than 2 weeks (10 working days) must be approved by the Dean.

Call In Procedure:
Employees who cannot report to work as scheduled must call his/her supervisor as soon as possible but no later than the scheduled start time to notify him/her/them of the employee’s absence. The employee should provide pertinent details about why the absence is required and obtain supervisor approval for the absence. Upon return to work, the employee must submit Workday absence request for this unplanned absence.

Unacceptable attendance and time off usage are subject to the university’s corrective action policies and applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Any of the situations listed below occurring within a rolling six-month period could result in an attendance review, and employees may be subject to appropriate corrective action up to and including termination. Department and/or OAA HumanResources should be consulted when attendance review is necessary, or unacceptable patterns of time off usage are identified.

Excessive absenteeism is defined as:

1. No Call/No Show: One (1) occurrence of failure to report to work and failure to follow established call-in procedures.
2. Job Abandonment: Three (3) consecutive, scheduled work days in a no call/no show status.
3. Pattern Absences exceeding acceptable attendance standards within the review period, including, but not limited to: 
   1. Unplanned absences in conjunction with a holiday, a vacation day, weekend, or scheduled day off, unfavorable work assignments, and any combination of the above mentioned scenarios.

Problem Solving and Support:
Supervisors should work with the employee who exhibits one or more of the attendance patterns stated above with a goal to improve attendance. Informal coaching sessions should occur between the supervisor and employee prior to corrective action. This will provide opportunities for the employee to share issues or concerns (personal or work related) that are preventing good attendance patterns and allows the supervisor and employee to develop and document an action plan to resolve the attendance problem. The supervisor is to address the problem with the employee at the first available opportunity. Additional violations of these guidelines will be addressed pursuant the Corrective Action & Involuntary Termination Policy 8.15.

Referral:
If the employee’s reasons for absences or frequency of absences indicate the presence of a family medical leave condition, the supervisor should refer the employee to the unit Human Resources Professional to determine eligibility. If the employee discloses problems of a personal nature, the supervisor should refer the employee to the Employee Assistance Program or unit the Human Resources Professional.