On-call and Inconvenience Pay Policy & Guidelines For Maintenance and Trades Employees

Definitions

1. Hours Worked. All the time during which an employee is required to be on NWU’s premises, on-duty, or at a prescribed workplace.
2. Non-exempt.  Employees who are paid by the hour and are eligible for overtime compensation as defined by the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) regulations.
3. Overtime. Time physically worked beyond the standard 40-hour weekly work period which is compensated monetarily at the rate of 1.5 times the hourly rate of pay for a non-exempt employee.
4. Exempt. Employees who are paid a salary and are not eligible for overtime compensation as defined by FLSA regulations.
5. Work Week. NWU’s standard workweek shall be from 12:00 a.m. Sunday through 11:59 p.m. Saturday.
6. Pay Period. NWU’s pay periods for hourly-paid, non-exempt employees are set for two periods each month (semi-monthly):
   1. from the 1st through the 15th of each month
   2. from the 16th through the last calendar day of the month (ex. 31st)
7. Overtime Pay Computation. Overtime pay will be computed as actual hours physically worked in excess of 40 hours during a work week. In computing overtime, holiday hours and leave hours (ex. Vacation, Sick, Admin, Jury, Bereavement, Parental, Military leave) are not considered actual hours worked.
8. Inconvenience Pay. Overtime eligible employees who have fulfilled specific conditions (noted within the policy below) are guaranteed a minimum of two (2) hours of pay regardless of the time actually worked, even if the actual hours worked is less than 2 hours.
9. On-Call Time. Employees may be required to carry a cell phone and/or report to work in their off hours, on short notice. If calls to perform work are so frequent or the readiness for work conditions are so restrictive that the employee is not free to use the intervening periods effectively for his or her own benefit, the time must be considered hours worked.
10. On-Call Phone Week. When an employee is scheduled to carry an on-call phone to receive calls for maintenance or emergency maintenance, the period for each week will run from Monday through Monday.

Policy Statement

Beginning April 15th, 2024, maintenance and trades employees working for NWU will be scheduled on a week-to-week basis and be responsible to carry the on-call maintenance cell phone.  They will be required to answer the phone after their standard work shift and access each call for the possibility of emergency services needed on-campus. The on-call employee will need to make a determination either over the phone or by returning to campus to assess the nature of the call and/or emergency. 

Potential Determinations:

1. If the situation is able to be put on hold and be addressed during standard working hours or the next working day, the employee should communicate the issue to the appropriate team leader or management team member and create a work ticket for the following workday. These situations may be able to be resolved by the night security team already on-campus. (Ex. Trouble with appliances on campus, Bike chain malfunction, Fob access denied)
2. If the situation is non-threatening and able to be resolved by the employee upon returning to campus, the employee should communicate the issue to the appropriate team leader or management team member to communicate the issue and take action to correct the situation as needed. (Ex. Fire alarm is set off, Power is out in isolated area, Heater/Air Conditioner is not running in standard weather conditions) 
3. If the situation is threatening or considered an emergency that would cause significant harm or significant financial damage by not addressing the concern immediately, the employee will be expected to contact the appropriate team leader or management team member to communicate the issue and take further direction or corrective action.  (ex. Fire, Flooding, Running toilet or water, Broken locks leaving buildings or areas unsecured, Heater/Air Conditioner is not running in extreme weather conditions)

Compensation for On-Call time and Carrying the Phone

Non-exempt maintenance and trades employees who are scheduled to carry the on-call phone will be compensated at the rate of $3.00 per day to be responsible for answering the phone if it rings.  Employees:

• will be scheduled to carry the on-call phone on a rotating basis for one week at a time from Monday to Monday of each week.
• will be required to find someone else to take the on-call duty of shift if they are not available.
• will be required to notify their supervisor of the change in advance of making the change regardless of vacation schedules or need for sick leave.
• will be expected to get the phone to another employee in a timely manner if the employee is switching on-call shifts with another employee.
• will be expected to be within a 35-to-40-minute driving range from campus and be able-bodied and able-minded to handle a call if the employee is needed to return to work.
• will be required to add one (1) unit of time or one (1) hour on their timesheet for each day they are scheduled to carry the phone at the end of their regularly scheduled shift on the “second” time sheet in their Self-service timesheet log.
• will be required to bring the phone back to campus each Monday to give it to the next employee scheduled to be on-call or to their immediate supervisor in the event the next regularly scheduled on-call employee is absent.
• may request additional weeks to carry the phone if desired.

The daily stipend for carrying the phone is not eligible toward the calculation of over-time hours. Exempt employees are not eligible for stipend to carry the on-call maintenance phone.

On-Call “Calls Taken” Compensation

If the on-call employee takes an actual phone call for service after their regularly scheduled shift, the employee should note the amount of time it takes to take the call on the phone, to access the situation, and to notify the appropriate team leader or management team member to communicate the issue, as well as any other follow up action needed from the employee’s current location. 

This amount of time will be logged as additional time worked for the amount of time used to receive the call and communicate to supervisors using the method described in 15-minute increments.  The time worked will be recorded on the employee’s standard timesheet in Self-Service. This time worked to take a call will be considered eligible for overtime pay and considered in the employee’s work week overtime calculations.

Example 1: On-call employee takes a phone call for service after their regularly scheduled shift and determines he can call the NWU security guards to address concern. The employee contacts security, and then texts their team leader or management team member to let them know how they handled the situation.  The amount of time from the time the phone rang until the text communication was done was 10 minutes.  The employee will log 15 minutes or .25 hours on their standard timesheet in Self-Service.

Example 2: On-call employee takes a phone call for service after their regularly scheduled shift and determines he can call the NWU security guards to address concern. The employee contacts security, and then texts their team leader or management team member to let them know how they handled the situation.  The amount of time from the time the phone rang until the text communication was done was 23 minutes.  The employee will log 30 minutes or .50 hours on their standard timesheet in Self-Service.

The break point for rounding of time will always be rounded to the next 15-minute increment.  Chart of examples below:

            1 – 15 minutes =         Log time as .25

            16 – 30 minutes =       Log time as .50

            31 – 45 minutes =       Log time as .75 

            46 – 00 minutes =       Log time as .00 or the full hour

On-Call “Inconvenience Pay” or “Return to Campus” Compensation

Nonexempt, overtime eligible employees may be eligible to earn Inconvenience Pay.  Exempt employees are not eligible for inconvenience pay. 

Overtime eligible employees who return to campus to work outside of their standard, regularly scheduled shift and fulfill the specific conditions noted below, are guaranteed a minimum of two (2) hours pay regardless of the hours actually worked if actual hours worked is less than 2 hours.

1. The employee has completed their normal shift and has left the workplace; and
2. The employee is unexpectedly required to return to work. 

Note: Employees who are called in prior to the beginning of their scheduled shift and are allowed to continue working through the shift are not eligible for inconvenience pay. The hours physically worked will be recorded as work time and used in the computation of overtime for that employee’s work week.

3. Up to two hours of inconvenience pay hours will be compensated.  Inconvenience Pay will be considered eligible work time used to calculate overtime for the employee’s work week.

4. Inconvenience pay does not apply if the employee is not required to actually leave their residence and return to the campus or other worksite. For example, employees who can deal with a problem on the phone without leaving their residence are ineligible for inconvenience pay. However, the time spent at their residence dealing with the problem while on the phone or communicating to their team leader or management team member is considered hours worked.

   Example 1: If an overtime eligible employee has worked for forty (40) hours, is unexpectedly called back to campus for work, and works for one (1) hour, the employee is paid as follows: 

   1. Hours Worked – 40 (entered on standard timecard as 40 hours)
   2. Inconvenience pay hours – 2 (entered on standard timecard as 2 hours even though there was one hour of actual work)

   3. Result – Employee will be paid 40 regular hours and 2 hours at the appropriate overtime rate.

      Example 2: If an overtime eligible employee has worked for forty (40) hours, is unexpectedly called back to work, and works for four (4) additional hours, the employee is paid as follows: 

      a. Hours Worked – 40 (entered on standard timecard as 40 hours)

      b. Additional worked hours – 4 (entered on standard timecard as 4 hours and will be considered in the calculation for overtime for the work week)

      c. No Inconvenience pay hours since all work time was recorded

      d. Result – Employee will be paid 40 regular hours and 4 hours at the appropriate overtime rate.