It is the Board of Education’s policy to comply with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its implementing regulations, unless the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement provide for greater rights to its employees. To that end, the Board shall pay at least the minimum wage required by the FLSA to all covered, non-exempt employees. Further, the Board recognizes the safe and efficient operation of the District may occasionally require covered, non-exempt employees to work more than forty (40) hours during a given work week. Work week is defined as the seven (7) day period of time beginning on Sunday at 12:00 a.m. and continuing to the following Saturday at 11:59 p.m. Covered, non-exempt employees who work (i.e., perform work on behalf of or for the benefit of the Board) more than forty (40) hours in a given work week will receive premium pay (i.e., one and one-half (1 1/2) times the employee’s regular hourly rate of pay) for all hours worked in excess of forty (40).

The Superintendent or his/her designee shall determine the necessity and availability of overtime work. Overtime may be authorized only by a supervisor and will be used primarily to address circumstances of an emergency or temporary nature. Non-exempt employees who work overtime without prior approval from the Superintendent or a supervisor may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Exempt employees are individuals who are exempt from the FLSA minimum wage and overtime provisions. These employees include persons employed in bona fide executive, administrative, and professional positions, and certain computer employees. To qualify for the exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on salary basis at not less than $455 per week. The salary requirement does not apply to teachers. Exempt computer employees may be paid at least $455 on a salary basis or on an hourly basis at a rate not less than $27.63 an hour. Being paid on a "salary basis" means an employee regularly receives a predetermined amount of compensation each pay period on a weekly, or less frequent, basis. Additionally, the predetermined amount cannot be reduced because of variation in the quality or quantity of the employee’s work. Subject to the exceptions listed below, an exempt employee must receive the full salary for any work week in which the employee performs any work, regardless of the number of days or hours worked.

Notwithstanding the fact that exempt school employees continue to meet the salary basis requirements and are not disqualified from exemption even if the employee’s pay is reduced or the employee is placed on a leave without pay for absences for personal reasons or because of illness or injury of less than one (1) work-day because accrued leave is not used for specific reasons, the Board reserves the right to make deductions from the pay of otherwise exempt employees under the following circumstances:

The Board shall also not be required to pay the full salary in the initial or terminal week of employment, or for weeks in which an exempt employee takes unpaid leave under the Family & Medical Leave Act.

The Board recognizes that with limited legally permissible exceptions, no deductions should be taken from the salaries of exempt employees. If an exempt employee believes that an improper deduction has been made to his/her salary, the employee should immediately report this information to the Treasurer, or his/her immediate supervisor. Reports of improper deductions will be promptly investigated. If it is determined that an improper deduction has occurred, the employee will be promptly reimbursed for any improper deduction made, and the Board will make a good faith commitment to avoid any recurrence of the error.

The Board directs the Superintendent to distribute this policy to all employees upon initial hire and on an annual basis.

The Superintendent is directed to prepare administrative guidelines to implement this policy.

29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.
29 C.F.R. Part 541