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Overtime authorization policy

The Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) Overtime Authorization Policy.
Updated 2/5/2025

Purpose

This policy establishes HCDE’s standards for overtime work and compensation for hourly and non-exempt (NE) salaried employees to ensure compliance with applicable labor laws and collective bargaining agreements, while promoting transparency and accountability.

Timesheet and time off submittal requirements

Record and approve all hours worked

  • All overtime-eligible employees must accurately report their hours worked in Workday and submit their timesheet for approval at the end of each pay period.
  • Time and absence approvers must approve all reported hours before the timesheet approval deadline to ensure timely compensation.
  • Supervisors may set a consistent time submission frequency (e.g., daily or weekly) for their teams.

Record paid time off and holidays

  • For foreseeable absences, employees are expected to consult with their supervisor in advance. Absences and/or paid holidays must be submitted in Workday on their absence calendar at least ten days in advance of the absence or as early as practicable. For emergent absences, employees are required to enter their absence taken upon return to ensure accurate payroll processing and overtime calculation.
  • All requests entered on the absence calendar will be automatically included in Workday timesheets.

Notification of delayed arrival

  • Employees who are going to be late for work must notify their supervisor and other staff, faculty or students that may be impacted by your absence. If you need help rescheduling or cancelling obligations, work with your supervisor. 

Breaks and rest periods are not recorded

  • Employees are expected to take their breaks, which are not recorded in the Workday timesheet.
  • All  overtime-eligible staff and student employees receive a 15-minute break for every 4 hours worked.

Record meals taken

  • Employees must be provided with an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break for every five consecutive hours worked.
  • If the employees’ duties require them to remain on-site or on-call during their meal break, the time must be recorded as paid work time.
  • Supervisors should ensure proper scheduling to allow for uninterrupted breaks.

Overtime approval requirements

Advance approval

All overtime work must be approved by the employee’s supervisor prior to being performed. Advance overtime approvals should also include whether the employee would like the extra hours worked to be paid or accumulated as compensatory time.

Emergent overtime exception

Situations may arise where client support may extend past the end of the workday. In those situations, employees must inform their supervisor in writing to explain the emergent work that exceeded scheduled hours.

Corrective action

Unauthorized overtime will be paid but may result in corrective action for repeated violations.

Budgetary review and approval

All overtime hours in excess of 2* hours per week requires review and approval from the department administrator.

Overtime compensation

Pay rate

  • Weekly overtime: Overtime is paid at 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a Monday–Sunday FLSA workweek.
  • Overtime over schedule: Overtime may also be paid at 1.5 times the straight time rate of pay for hours worked outside of the employee’s work schedule as specified in collective bargaining agreements for contract covered employees or in WAC 357-28-255 for classified non-union employees. Review Overtime Calculations for additional information.

Impact of holidays and paid time off by employee type

  • Salaried Professional Staff, SEIU 925 Libraries, UAW ASEs, UAW Postdocs: Paid time off and holidays are not considered time worked when calculating overtime. Extra hours worked beyond weekly scheduled hours that are not eligible for overtime will be paid as additional straight time hours.
  • Hourly Professional Staff: Paid time off and holidays are not considered time worked when calculating overtime.
  • Salaried SEIU 925 Contract Covered Staff: Paid time off and holidays are considered time worked when calculating overtime.
  • Nonpermanent Hourly and Intermittent SEIU 925 Contract Covered Staff and WFSE Staff: Paid holiday hours, including the use of holiday credit, are considered time worked when calculating overtime. All other paid time off is not counted toward the overtime calculation.
  • Hourly and Salaried Classified Non-union Staff: Paid holidays, including the personal holiday and the use of holiday credit, are considered time worked when calculating overtime. Paid time off is not considered in calculating overtime.
  • Student Hourly Employees: Paid time off and holidays are not considered time worked when calculating overtime.
  • UAW – Research Scientist Engineers: Only time worked shall be counted for the purpose of computing overtime compensation.
  • Salaried WFSE Primary Staff: Paid time off and holidays are considered time worked when calculating overtime.
  • WFSE Police Management: Paid time off and holidays are considered time worked when calculating overtime.

Holiday premium

Employees covered by certain collective bargaining agreements and classified non-union employees (WAC 357-28-200) may be eligible for holiday premium pay when they work on a holiday. Approval for holiday work on an unscheduled day follows the same process as for overtime approval.

Compensatory time off option

  • OT eligible employees may choose compensatory time off instead of pay if their supervisor approves. Please work with your supervisor. If approved, this option is selected in Workday time entry.
  • Unless your collective bargaining agreement states otherwise, you must use or be paid for your accumulated time by June 30.
  • Once overtime is paid, no retroactive adjustments can be made to convert it into compensatory time.

Additional provisions

  • Travel Time: All management-required travel time is compensable, including transit to airports or other required locations for out-of-town travel. Authorization for travel time must be requested in advance.
  • Required Meetings and Training: Time spent in employer-mandated training, meetings, or lectures is compensable and should be included in time entry.