A reminder of legal work rules involving nonexempt employees

Special legal rules apply to time accounting and reporting for nonexempt employees and are reflected in university policy concerning compensation of staff employees (Administrative Guide Memo 22.4).

This is a reminder to supervisors to make sure that the following rules are followed:

• Nonexempt employees must accurately report all time worked, including actual start and stop times. Rest breaks do not need to be reported.
• Overtime must be approved in advance. (However, a nonexempt employee must be paid for all hours worked, including overtime hours that were not approved in advance.)
• Nonexempt employees receive a 15-minute rest break for each four hours worked. As far as is practical, the rest break should be scheduled for the middle of the work period.
• Employees may not use the 15-minute rest break to shorten the workday or extend a meal period.
• Non-exempt employees who work more than five hours must receive a meal period of at least 30 minutes. With the supervisor's approval, the meal period may be waived in writing if the employee works no more than six hours a day.
• Nonexempt employees must be relieved of all duties during the meal period.
• Special rules apply to situations where the nature of the work requires a nonexempt employee to work during the meal period. Supervisors should consult with their human resources officer in advance before requiring or permitting a nonexempt employee to work through the meal period.
• Makeup time arrangements are permitted when a nonexempt employee works longer on one day to make up for time taken off for personal reasons on another day during the same work week, but must be requested and approved in writing.

For additional time reporting requirements, see Administrative Guide Memo 22.4. For questions concerning specific situations, consult your human resources officer (HRO). A list of HROs can be found online at http://hrweb.stanford.edu/information/hro.html.