Premium Pay
Bates College offers premium pay over and above one’s regular hourly wage. Some Premium Pay categories are duty specific and all employees may not be eligible. If you have questions as to whether your position is eligible, please contact your Supervisor or the Human Resources Department.
OVERTIME
Overtime compensation is paid to all nonexempt staff members in accordance with federal and state wage and hour guidelines. Bates College also grants overtime for nonexempt staff members for hours taken as vacation or sick leave. Time off for holidays, personal leave or any leave of absence will not be considered hours worked for purposes of performing overtime calculations.
Overtime is paid for all hours over 40 per week. Bates College calculates overtime on a weekly basis, therefore, working 10 hours on one day does not count as overtime unless the total amount worked for that week exceeds 40 hours. The overtime pay rate is one and one-half times the staff member’s regular rate, which includes special compensation (shift differential, call-in pay, other premium pay, etc.).
All overtime work must receive prior approval of the staff member’s supervisor. When possible, staff members will be given the opportunity to volunteer for overtime work assignments. In other cases, overtime assignments will be distributed as equitably as practical to all staff members qualified to perform the required work. In certain situations, overtime is expected or is required as a condition of employment. In such cases, it is usually noted at the time of hire, or in advance for major campus events or unusual departmental demands. Examples of mandatory overtime are working during a weather emergency for essential personnel, Commencement weekend, or at other times when College needs prevail.
HOLIDAY PAY
Regular staff members who are eligible to earn leave will receive holiday pay in accordance withsection 305 of the Employee Handbook. Holiday pay is based upon the number of hours the staff member is normally scheduled to work, up to a maximum of 8 hours. Half-time and three-quarter-time staff members will be paid 4 or 6 hours of holiday pay, respectively.
Nonexempt staff members who work on a scheduled College holiday will be paid time-and-one-half for the hours actually worked on the holiday in addition to regular holiday pay. However, staff members may elect to receive time-and-one-half pay for the hours actually worked on the holiday and take another day during the same pay week as the paid holiday. This arrangement is subject to approval by the staff member’s supervisor in advance.
EMERGENCY CALL-IN PAY
Certain nonexempt staff positions are eligible to receive call-in pay for coming to campus to respond to a bona fide campus-wide College emergency. Designated positions are determined in advance by the Human Resources Department and are routinely placed on call because of their job requirements. Events designated as campus-wide emergencies for the purpose of this policy are made by the Vice President for Asset Management and Treasurer.
The minimum pay for being called in before midnight is two hours of pay at time-and-a-half. The minimum pay for being called in after midnight is three hours of pay at time-and-a-half, regardless of the length of the emergency. If the staff member works for more than the minimum two or three hours, he or she is paid for the actual amount of time worked. Shift differential does not apply to emergency call-in pay.
PAGER TIME OR WAITING TO WORK TIME
Certain nonexempt staff positions who are regularly scheduled to be in a waiting to work status are eligible to receive pager pay for being on call 24 hours a day in case a pressing need of the College emerges. Designated positions are determined in advance by the Human Resources Department and are routinely placed on call for designated periods of time.
The pay for pager time is 4 hours of regular pay for each week the staff member is in a waiting to work status. If a staff member comes in to respond to an emergency, he or she will also receive Emergency Call-in pay in accordance with section 410 of the Employee Handbook.
SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL
Bates College’s policy is to give additional compensation for regular nonexempt positions that routinely require work to be scheduled outside of the normal daytime hours. A shift differential shall be paid to regular staff members who are required by management to work certain evening, night, or weekend hours. Eligible hours are those that occur when one or more hours are worked between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, or for any work occurring after 6:00 p.m. Friday evening, all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and until 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Work arrangements that are approved on the basis of convenience to the staff member, shall not be considered an assigned evening, night, or weekend shift for the purpose of this policy. Student and temporary employees are not considered regular employees and, therefore, are not eligible to receive a shift differential.
Only regular, nonexempt staff members, who are regularly scheduled to work in positions that normally require the individual to work evening, night, or weekend hours, are eligible to receive shift differential pay.
Eligibility: Typically, shift differential pay is approved for positions in departments that require around-the-clock coverage or operations that consistently require late evening, night, or weekend coverage. Eligibility for a shift differential is tied to the position and time period worked, and is not an entitlement of individual staff members. Positions that are eligible to receive a differential are approved by Human Resources in advance.
A shift differential is paid in addition to the regular hourly rate when at least one full hour is worked during periods of time covered by the shift differential. For partial hours of 30 minutes or more, a full differential is paid provided that one full hour has been worked prior to the partial hour.
If a staff member who typically works the evening, night, or weekend shift is temporarily assigned to the day shift, he or she will not receive any shift differential for the hours worked during the day shift. A staff member regularly assigned to a rotating shift, a split shift, or who regularly rotates shifts, shall be paid the shift differential only when working the specific position and hours for which a differential has been approved.
Rate: The standard rate at which Bates College compensates for all shift work is fifty cents ($.50) an hour in addition to the staff member’s regular base rate of pay. The shift differential rate for overtime hours will be calculated at 1 ½ times the shift differential rate. Shift differential pay is not included in the pay of staff members who are on paid leave, such as vacation, sick leave, or holidays, etc., and shall be paid only for hours that are actually worked. The maximum shift differential that can be paid for any hour worked is fifty cents per hour.
Shift differential pay is subject to the same payroll deductions and payroll charges as regular salary or wages, but it is not used in the calculation of benefit credits. The eligible staff member’s supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the staff member’s timesheet correctly reflects the appropriate time worked and notes the hours where the shift differential applies.
Special Circumstances: Staff members who are asked to come in during the evening, night, or on the weekend by a manager to work in a position that is normally eligible for a shift differential will receive the appropriate differential. Staff members who are asked by a manager to work over will also receive the differential if he or she works for one hour or more into the eligible shift differential period.
Emergencies declared by the Senior Emergency Response Group are governed by sections 138 and414 of the Employee Handbook and such emergencies are not eligible for a shift differential, but are governed by the pay provisions of that policy.
PAY FOR COLLEGE EMERGENCIES (including Weather Emergencies)
The excerpts below are taken from the College Emergency Procedures and Policies (also known as the senior Emergency Response Group Policy) and govern pay for weather emergencies only.
When Bates College declares a weather emergency, only “essential” personnel should report for work as scheduled. Employees not asked to report to work (except temporary employees) will receive their regular pay. If an employee is on vacation or sick leave during a declared weather emergency (and College offices are closed), the day(s) of emergency will be added to the employee’s vacation or sick leave balance.
Regular nonexempt employees who are required to work during a weather emergency will receive pay at 2 ½ times the straight time rate of pay. This is figured by adding 1 ½ times pay (the overtime rate) and an added 1 time (straight-time) pay to make allowance for the excused time pay received by other nonexempt employees during the emergency.
Temporary employees may be required to report for work during weather emergencies if they are declared essential. Temporary employees who work during the weather emergency will be receive time-and-one-half pay for hours worked, in accordance with the normal pay policies and practices of the College.
If Bates does not declare that College offices are closed as a result of a weather emergency, weather conditions nevertheless may cause employees to be concerned about traveling to and from work depending on the distance of travel, the hazards of driving, or other subjective factors. In such cases, the employees will have to make their own judgments about whether to stay home or to leave work early. An employee’s decision, based on individual circumstances, will be respected when shared with his or her supervisor. If an employee chooses not to travel or decides to leave work early because of concerns about the weather, he or she may use accumulated vacation time, make up the time on other days within the same work week (or its practical equivalent) if approved by the supervisor; or take leave without pay.