3502 Timekeeping

Responsible Official: 
Controller
Responsible Office: 
Controller's Office
Effective Date: 
December 12, 2014
Revision Date: 
April 4, 2022

Policy Sections

3502.1 Employees

3502.2 Time Sheet Approvers

3502.3 Lead Administrators

Scope

This policy describes the University’s timekeeping requirements by employee classification (Exempt and Non-Exempt).  This policy does not cover the following two groups, who are not required to keep and submit time sheets because their pay is not based on hours worked, nor do they receive paid time off:

  • Faculty and other academic employees (including postdoctoral associates, postgraduate associates, research scientist/scholars, visiting teaching faculty and visiting research faculty); and
  • Graduate School and professional school students who receive fellowships or payments for teaching or research positions. 

Reason for the Policy

Salaries, wages, payroll taxes, and associated benefits constitute a significant portion of the University’s overall expenditures and are subject to regulations imposed by the federal government, the State of Connecticut, and other agencies.  Salaries, wages, payroll taxes, and benefits are accurate only to the extent that they are based on accurate time sheets.  This policy states the requirements for timesheets are completion, review, and approval.  Falsification of hours worked is considered theft and grounds for termination.

Definitions

Exempt Employees

Exempt employees (which include most Managerial and Professional employees - M&Ps) are exempt from (not subject to) the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Non-Exempt Employees

Non-exempt employees (which include Clerical & Technical (C&T), Service & Maintenance (S&M), Yale Police, Yale Security employees, and overtime-eligible M&Ps) are not exempt from (and therefore subject to) FLSA standards.  Under the FLSA, these employees must be paid for travel time, on-call time, and one-and-a-half-times regular pay for overtime work.

Hours Worked

Hours worked include scheduled hours worked and, for all non-exempt employees, overtime hours and compensable travel and on-call time.  See Policy 3504 Compensation for Travel Time and On-Call Time for definitions and eligibility.  See Procedure 3504 PR.01 Entering Travel Time and On-Call Time for instructions on how to enter this time into the appropriate timekeeping system. 

Paid Time Off

Paid time off, unless otherwise specifically defined, refers broadly to all types of paid time off provided by Yale.  These types include, but may not be limited to, PTO, vacation, sick, bonus vacation, compensatory time, jury duty, and PTO max extension.  Refer to the Paid Time Off and Leaves section of the Staff Workplace Policies for a description of the accrual and use of paid time off.

Policy Sections

3502.1 Employees

All employees covered under this policy must accurately report time worked and any benefit time taken.  The increments in which time must be reported (except FMLA leave, as discussed below) are determined by the employee’s position classification (see Workday Time and Absence Resources for specific information).

The University utilizes various time keeping systems which employees must use to record their time.  See Procedure 3502 PR.01 Timekeeping Procedure for details regarding those systems and the appropriate way to use them.

All employees on intermittent family and medical leave must report leave time taken to the quarter hour through Yale’s third-party administrator for Family & Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) time tracking.  See Leaves of Absence website for further details and resources on how to report leave time.  Employees must report all intermittent leave occurrences to the third-party administrator within 24 hours.  Employees are also responsible for timely notifying their manager of any intermittent occurrences, in accordance with departmental work procedures.  If employees use paid time off accruals toward FMLA-related absences, employees must also deduct such accruals in accordance with their appropriate time keeping procedures, as determined by the employee’s position classification.

Employees are responsible for the prompt submission of their time to ensure they are correctly paid.  In the event an employee is paid for time not worked or not charged paid time off, they must report the error immediately to their supervisor for correction.

3502.2 Time Sheet Approvers

The time sheet approver is responsible for having sufficient knowledge of the employee’s work to be able to approve the time sheet.  This responsibility includes knowledge that any overtime submitted was approved by the immediate supervisor (which may be the time sheet approver).

3502.3 Lead Administrators

The lead administrator is responsible for the accuracy of his/her financial reports and the internal controls in his/her areas of responsibility.  He/she needs to ensure that appropriate procedures are in place for the accurate submission and approval of time sheets in a timely manner.