Kronos Time Keeping System

1. Purpose:

The purpose of this document is to define East Carolina University’s (ECU or University) core institutional expectations related to timekeeping and payroll processing using the Kronos® Workforce Time Keeper Solution.

2. Definitions:

• 2.1. Kronos® Workforce Timekeeper (Kronos) – automated software solution for managing schedules, tracking time and attendance, and administering absences and leave taken.
• 2.2. SHRA – employees that are subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act, N. C. General Statutes Chapter 126.
• 2.3. EHRA – employees that are Exempt from the North Carolina Human Resources Act, N. C. General Statutes Chapter 126.
• 2.4. FLSA – the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S. Code Chapter 8. This Federal law establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State and local governments.
• 2.5. Non-Exempt – term for employees that are not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and are required to be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. Employees will fall into this type unless they are “exempt”.
• 2.6. Exempt – term for employees exempt from overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. ECU considers certain positions exempt if they meet certain tests regarding their job duties and salary. Compensation of exempt employees will not be based on a report of hours worked. Exempt employees generally use Kronos only to record the usage of university earned or granted leave, or approved unpaid leave.
• 2.7. Standard Schedule – a “customary and usual” schedule for a full-time employee (FTE), generally defined as a 40-hour work week, Monday through Friday. Other iterations of a standard schedule can exist based on the employee’s specific job duty and FTE, such as for law enforcement officers.
• 2.8. Flex Schedule – a variation of the standard schedule. Supervisors, with approval of the department head, may allow an employee to utilize a flexible work schedule. Such schedules may allow employees to choose a daily work schedule and meal period that, subject to departmental need, may be compatible with the employee’s personal needs. Flexible scheduling is subject to supervisory approval and the supervisor may discontinue it at any time based on departmental need. For Non-Exempt employees, the work schedule flex must occur within the same work week and result in the appropriate number of hours worked based on the employee’s FTE (40 hours for 1.0 FTE).
• 2.9. Super Admins – designated personnel (“Super Administrators” or “Super Admins”) with Kronos and payroll responsibilities including traditional leave keeping functions, in addition to sign-off for department/division time cards prior to that data passing to payroll for processing.
• 2.10. Gap Hours – occur when a non-exempt employee works extra straight-time hours over those expected (such as a Holiday week). ECU compensates these hours with pay at the employee’s standard pay rate and Kronos will reflect this pay as “Hours over Paid Schedule”. Permanent, partial FTE employees are potentially in a gap hours earning situation each week. Kronos will not automatically award gap hours for Permanent Part Time Employees.
• 2.11. Premium Pay Types – additional pay provided to employees working certain types of hours or under certain types of conditions, including:
  • 2.11.1. Shift Differential Pay – premium pay type related to extra pay received by employees for working specific shifts, such as late nights, evenings, or holidays.
  • 2.11.2. On-Call Pay – premium pay type related to an eligible employee waiting to be called upon by their employer or supervisor to perform a task, typically called “waiting to be engaged.” On call conditions may vary – such as a required response time.
  • 2.11.3. Emergency Call-Back Pay – premium pay type related to employees called back to perform work beyond regularly scheduled hours.
• 2.12. Approvals – represent acknowledgement that time worked and/or leave earned or taken on a timecard is correct and complete. Individuals performing approvals should have knowledge of an employee’s expected and actual daily attendance. An electronic approval in Kronos is tantamount to a signature.
  • 2.12.1. Each timecard should have at least two approvals per pay period:
    • 2.12.1.1. An employee must approve his/her own timecard; and
    • 2.12.1.2. Another individual serving in a supervisory or management capacity must approve an employee’s timecard.
• 2.13. Sign-off – represents acknowledgement that a timecard has met the minimum number of required approvals and is being closed. The Kronos system requires sign-off to advance a record for payment or to show the record as complete. Sign-off does not indicate that the information on the record is necessarily correct or complete. A Super Admin performs sign-off in a particular department or college for all the individuals under his/her review.
  • 2.13.1. Financial Services recommends that the individual who has Approval authority for an employee be different from the individual with Sign-off authority for that same employee.
  • 2.13.2. The number of persons designated as Super Admins in any given department is expected to be minimal (one with primary responsibility and a second serving as a back-up).

3. Official Timekeeping System:

Kronos is ECU’s official timekeeping system and all employees that track time (non-exempt) or that earn leave are required to use Kronos.

4. System Responsibility:

Kronos requires long-term monitoring, education, and support in a shared governance environment. The principals responsible for managing Kronos include Human Resources, Financial Services, and ITCS. An internal Responsibility Matrix, maintained and updated by Administration and Finance, reflects current responsibilities and assignments and is critical to the functionality and long-term sustainability of Kronos.

5. Clocking, Punching, or Timestamping:

All non-exempt employees must clock in and out of Kronos and record the time work begins, work ends, and is suspended for a meal period.

• 5.1. Clocking and punching typically refer to using a timeclock whereas timestamping refers to using a workstation.
• 5.2. An employee can access Kronos from their work computer for timestamping purposes. Employees can alternatively clock using time clocks located in various locations across campus.
• 5.3. An employee may timestamp from an alternative location (other than ECU locations) in accordance with department policies and procedures and only if he or she has a properly approved teleworking arrangement. Exceptions to this requirement are only permitted when telework is being used as an emergency provision when so authorized by the chancellor.
• 5.4. Kronos will round in and out punches, including those for meal periods, in 15-minute intervals with a 7-minute grace period. Employees should familiarize themselves with the Kronos rounding rules.
• 5.5. Employees are prohibited from manipulating their own punches or timestamps. In and out times, even though rounded for accounting purposes, are legal records of work time. Prohibited behaviors include an attempt to take advantage of the rounding rules.

6. Time Card Approval:

All employees (full-time, part-time, temporary, and students) must approve their timecards at the end of each pay period. Prior to approving their timecards, employees must review their timecards for hours worked and/or leave earned or taken, and verify the time card is a true and accurate reflection of hours worked and/or leave taken.

• 6.1. If an employee is unable to complete and approve his/her time card, the supervisor is authorized to complete these actions. The lack of an employee’s signature is an unusual circumstance and should only happen in extreme cases such as when an employee is not working and not earning or taking leave during the pay period.
• 6.2. If needed, the SuperAdmin can submit a request for a historical edit on an employee’s time card.
• 6.3. A supervisor or manager should approve the time card after an employee approves. If the supervisor or manager is not available to approve, a delegate in the reporting structure will approve.

7. Adverse Weather and Emergency Event Policy:

Please follow university guidance as provided in REG 06.45.02, Adverse Weather and Emergency Event Regulation – Interim and any other applicable leave provision if provided by the Office of State Human Resources.

8. Holidays:

ECU’s officially observed Holidays are pre-coded on the time cards. Please refer to Human Resources listing of official holidays to determine when employees are on holiday leave status. ECU allows gap hours (reference Definitions, Item 2.10); however, Gap hours carry financial implications.

9. Negative Leave:

Except under unique, individualized, and extreme circumstances, ECU strongly discourages negative leave in excess of the amount an employee would accrue in a single month. The unauthorized use of leave after all the employee’s leave credits are exhausted is not permitted for any employee and may subject the employee to disciplinary action, unless otherwise required by law.

10. Non-Exempt Employee Guidance:

Kronos requires employees to observe the following guidelines:

• 10.1. Schedules in Kronos – ECU requires schedules be maintained in Kronos for all permanent non-exempt employees, with a few rare exceptions. Schedules can be set up either as a standard schedule or a flex schedule and must be approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor. Super Admins can update and/or modify schedules in Kronos as needed. For example, some employees may work a standard schedule during the year and a flex schedule during the summer months.
  • 10.1.1. Schedules are based on a standard work week which starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday.
  • 10.1.2. For shifts that cross a day-divide (begin on one day, run through midnight, and end on another), the total time worked during the shift will be attributed to the day in which the majority of hours occur.
  • 10.1.3. Hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime should be based on hours worked Sunday through Saturday, even if the work week is split between two pay periods or between two months.
  • 10.1.4. If a department has regularly established work shifts that change at a time other than midnight, the time of shift change closest to midnight will set the hour limits of the day for the purpose of computing premium pay.
  • 10.1.5. Non-exempt employees who work hours in excess of 40 hours for one week cannot carry them over to make up an absence in another week. If a non-exempt employee works less than 40 hours, the employee must record leave for the hours not worked.
  • 10.1.6. Hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime for Law Enforcement Officers should be based on a 14 day/86-hour work period.
  • 10.1.7. Super Admins (or Human Resources in response to a Super Admin’s request) enter standard and Flex schedules into Kronos. The nonexempt employee’s supervisor must approve flex schedules in advance. Departments can require additional levels of approval.
  • 10.1.8. For permanent, non-exempt employees, it is the responsibility of the employee’s department (manager or Super Admin) to manage gap hours.
• 10.2. Meal Periods – ECU expects nonexempt employees to take a meal period (clock out and in) of one (1) hour unless their approved schedule calls for less time.
  • 10.2.1. The minimum time allowable for a meal period is 30 minutes. The meal period should be duty free and away from the designated place of work if possible.
  • 10.2.2. If Kronos detects an unpaid span of less than 30 minutes, it assumes a short meal period and indicates in red an exception has occurred on the time card. The supervisor will review the time card and clear the exception based on the circumstances associated with not taking a meal break.
• 10.3. Overtime for Nonexempt Employees –
  • 10.3.1. The supervisor must generally approve overtime in advance. There may be times when an employee inadvertently accumulates overtime due to the rounding rules in Kronos or due to unplanned work requirements.
  • 10.3.2. In compliance with FLSA, ECU compensates employees for overtime worked/accrued.
    • 10.3.2.1. Generally, ECU compensates employees for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week at the rate of 1.5 hours for every hour worked in excess of 40.
    • 10.3.2.2. ECU compensates Law Enforcement employees for hours worked in excess of 86 per 14-day work period at the rate of 1.5 hours for every hour worked in excess of 86.
    • 10.3.2.3. Employees must use compensatory time earned within 12 months of the date the employee earned the time or ECU will pay the employee for the compensatory hours aged greater than twelve months. Employees should use compensatory leave before any other paid leave types in compliance with the vacation guidance provided by the Office of State Human Resources.
    • 10.3.2.4. Division/College guidelines will determine the method of compensation for overtime. In no event will the rate of compensation for overtime be lower than the minimum rate allowed by applicable law.
  • 10.3.3. Supervisors are accountable for the accuracy of their employee’s time, attendance and leave. For non-exempt employees, it is recommended that a supervisor review their timecard on a weekly basis to ensure accuracy. Minimally, time cards must be reviewed by the supervisor before the applicable signoff deadline.
• 10.4. Premium Pay for Nonexempt Employees – Non-exempt employees, including Law Enforcement, may qualify for premium-pay types such as shift differential, on-call, and call back. Guidelines for premium-pay types are as follows:
  • 10.4.1. Shift Differential:
    • 10.4.1.1. Employees will punch in and out.
    • 10.4.1.2. Employees will earn shift differential based on their having a schedule that meets the criteria set by the Office of Human Resources.
  • 10.4.2. On-call Pay:
    • 10.4.2.1. Employees must be available to work.
    • 10.4.2.2. Employees will add on call hours to their Kronos timecard using the appropriate On Call Pay code including the number of hours on call.
    • 10.4.2.3. Employees will follow department guidelines for on call duty.
  • 10.4.3. Emergency Call-Back:
    • 10.4.3.1. Employees will select the Call Back work rule on the physical timeclock or through the Kronos application.
    • 10.4.3.2. Managers may add call back time using the Call Back Work Rule in the Transfer column of the timecard if necessary.
    • 10.4.3.3. Employees will follow department guidelines for call back.

11. Exempt Employee Guidance:

ECU requires all leave-earning exempt employees to use Kronos to record leave taken.

• 11.1. Generally, exempt employees will not have a schedule set up in Kronos; therefore, guidance regarding meal periods and overtime pay does not apply.
• 11.2. The workweek for full-time exempt employees is normally considered to be at least 40 work hours, and for part-time employees the proportion of 40 hours equivalent to the appointment percentage; however, meeting the responsibilities assigned to an exempt position is the material requirement such that recording a specified number of hours is not prioritized. Therefore, exempt employees are not eligible to receive overtime compensation or compensatory time off in lieu of overtime and will not have these items recorded in Kronos. In addition, hours worked in excess of 40 for exempt employees should not be tracked outside the system. It is understood that, in some circumstances, exempt employees may be required to work long hours in excess of what is normally expected. In such circumstances, supervisors may exercise discretion in allowing exempt employees to take time off at a later date (or otherwise flex their schedules) without using accrued leave, so long as it is reasonable and the employee continues to meet the obligations of the position. Similarly, supervisors also may exercise discretion in requiring exempt employees to use accrued leave if the employee is away from work for portions of a workday, within reason and in manner consistent with other exempt employees within the unit.
• 11.3. Some CSS exempt employees may qualify for premium pay. Please reference guidance provided in the Clinical Support Services “CSS’ Handbook. ECU requires CSS exempt employees to observe the following guidelines:
  • 11.3.1. Shift Differential pay:
    • 11.3.1.1. Employees will add shift hours using the appropriate pay code, including the number of shift hours worked.
    • 11.3.1.2. Employees will follow department and Human Resources guidelines for exempt employees.

12. Supervisory Responsibilities:

• 12.1. Supervisors and Managers are responsible for reviewing and approving the record of their employees’ time. Additionally, managers/supervisors will:
  • 12.1.1. Educate and guide employees on the utilization of Kronos.
  • 12.1.2. Ensure each employee approves his or her time card timely.
  • 12.1.3. Ensure that full-time and part-time employees adhere to their schedule, do not exceed their scheduled hours, and utilize the appropriate pay codes.
  • 12.1.4. Ensure correction of each employee’s appropriate pay codes and hours when errors are discovered.
  • 12.1.5. Ensure employees take appropriate meal periods.
  • 12.1.6. Ensure employees follow overtime guidelines requiring prior approval.
  • 12.1.7. Ensure premium pay is applied based upon applicable rules/guidelines.
  • 12.1.8. Ensure that the employees they supervise work overtime only if and when needed in the best interest of the University and not for mere convenience of an employee.
• 12.2. Supervisors and Managers are responsible for reviewing Kronos training documents and job aids to provide guidance and direction to employees regarding Kronos policies and procedures and to ensure compliance with those policies and procedures.