Managing
Compensatory Leave
Your resources:
As a manager you have a product or
service to produce and you have resources to use. The resources include your
equipment, supplies, space and your people. Your managerial skill is measured
by how much work your unit produces versus the quantity of resources utilized.
This module is designed to help you understand the management of compensatory
leave (K leave) in order to maximize your skill.
Nothing is simple |
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Non-exempt? |
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Exempt? |
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Federal? |
State? |
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1.5 K? |
Sraight K? |
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Over 80 hrs? |
Over 8 hrs? |
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8/ 80? |
8/40? |
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Compensatory leave is granted for
extra hours worked. There are two sets of rules for the earning of K leave
because the rules are different for employees in the non-exempt category and
those in the exempt category. There are also two types of rules that apply to
the earning of K-leave, federal rules and state rules. It can really get
complicated because the different rules apply depending on how the extra hours
are worked.
Also most of our employees
are what we call 8/80 meaning that they are assigned 8 hours per day in a 80
hour pay period. Some of our employees work 8/40 and some work 10 or 12 hr
shifts.
For help with those topics click here è 8/40 or other different shifts.
For definitions of click here è
definitions.
Lets look at this one condition at
a time: Non-exempt employees are employees that fix the overtime pay categories
outline by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and for these employees
both the federal laws apply as well as the state laws. The applications are
best illustrated by examples.
Non-Exempt
Employees earn K leave
under both Federal and State rules depending on the conditions. If an employee
works more than 40 hours in a workweek, the Federal law applies and the K leave
is earned at the 1.5 rate. If an employee works less than 40 hours in a
workweek but more than 8 hours on any day(s) the State laws apply and the K
leave is earned at the straight K rate. Here is a table and some examples.
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Condition: |
Which laws apply |
Type of leave earned |
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(1) The employee works more than forty hours in a workweek. |
Federal |
1.5 K (for one hour worked, 1.5 hours of leave is earned) |
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This workweek the employee worked 46.5 hours. |
They worked an
extra 6.5 hours (46.5-40.0 = 6.5 hours ) |
Leave earned is 6.5 hours of 1.5 K. |
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Condition: |
Which laws apply |
Type of leave earned |
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(2) The employee works less than forty hours in a workweek but works more than 8 hours in one or more days |
State |
K (straight) (for one hour worked, 1 hour of leave is earned) |
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This pay period the employee worked 76.5 hours had 5.5 hours of paid leave but worked two hours late on one day. |
They worked an
extra 2 hours (10-8 = 2 hours ) |
Leave earned is 2 hours straight K. |
Exempt
Employees are exempt from
the Federal laws and earn K leave under State rules. An employee earns straight
K leave if they work more than 80 hours in a pay period or if they work more
than 8 hours on any day(s). This is simpler for the manager the K leave is
always earned at the straight K rate. Again, here is a table and some examples.
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Condition: |
Which laws apply |
Type of leave earned |
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(1) The employee works more than eighty hours in a pay period |
Federal Exempt State Applies
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1 straight K (for 1 hour worked 1 hour of leave is earned) |
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This pay period the employee worked 86.5 hours. |
They worked an
extra 6.5 hours (86.5-80.0 = 6.5 hours) |
Leave earned is 6.5 hours of straight K. |
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Condition: |
Which laws apply |
Type of leave earned |
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(2) The employee works less than eighty hours in a pay period but works more than 8 hours in one or more days |
State only |
None |
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This pay period the employee worked 76.5 hours, had 1.5 hours of paid leave but worked two hours late on one day. |
They worked an extra 2 hours but did not work 80. |
none. |
Assigned
Leave utilization:
Excessive K leave represents a
liability to the manager and the institution. You have to consider accumulated
K leave as debt that one day will be payed. So is useful to have a strategy to
maximize the granting of K leave for absences and to minimize the accumulation
of K leave. Managers can assign employees to use accumulated straight K leave but they cannot force the
utilization of 1.5 K leave. Managers can assign people off on K leave in times
of reduced workload. This is the time to pay back the debt that is accrued
during times of personnel shortages, special projects and high workload.
The
games people play.
Managers need to be on the lookout
for abuses within the K leave system. These scenarios illustrate some of the
opportunities for abuse.
The working late
(or early) game:
The employee clocks in early or
procrastinates on clocking out so that little-by-little the K time accumulates.
Pretty soon they have a few days worth and this is a liability to your unit.
Your options? Don't allow this. You have to enforce the
time and attendance policies. Require employees to get approval before earning
K leave per the new policy. Use counseling and disciplinary actions to enforce.
The "we got late patients
(late specimens, late procedures)" game: This is legitimate happening, a patient is from out-of-town
and comes in late. But does this happen every day? If so why?
Your option? Change the employee's hours or stagger your
personnel so that one person is assigned to cover these "daily
emergencies".
The
"work Saturday but sick on Monday" game:
In this game the employee
volunteers to work additional weekends or holidays (either to do a co-worker a
favor or to cover a shortage). They work the additional day but call in sick on
another assigned day to compensate.
Your option:
Look for patterns and don't
approve the additional assignment. The new policy helps with this one.
The "working through lunch
game".
The employee punches clock code
"0" every day because they are "too busy" to take lunch But
you somehow see them in the break room wolfing down a sandwich, Thirty minutes
per day becomes a few days off or a nicer check.
Your option:
You simply don't allow skipping
lunch. Look hard at the "too busy" workplace and you are sure to find
an illegal toaster or toaster oven.
The "I'm going to retire
soon" game:
The employee accumulates K leave
so that when they retire they can "go-out" six months early. You want
to be nice but the problem is that you can't get your position filled until all
of the leave is exhausted. Futher, while they are on K leave they are earning
annual leave. In those six months they will accumulate about three weeks of
annual leave.
Your options:
You can be nice in many other ways
that won't penalize your unit. Take the retiree to lunch or honor them with a
cake and punch party.
The "I'm
going to make more money " game:
Every now and then, the hospital
has a little extra money and decides to pay down the K leave debt. Some
employees count on this and play all the other games in order to get big check.
Your options: Use the K leave policy to stop the game
playing.
The K leave policy is designed to
help you properly manage our resources while at the same time allowing the
flexibility to earn and use compensatory leave. Compensatory leave is an
essential tool for managers which also benefits employees.
Take the test and get credit for
this exercise
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