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Applying Rules
Work rules generally consist of seven basic aspects:
State and Federal Legislative Compliance
Legislative compliance is the basis for nearly all employment policies. Employers in all sectors of the economy must first comply with the laws spelled out by the city, state, and federal government. These laws define what an employee is, how many hours they may work at regular hourly pay, how overtime is determined, minimum hourly wages, and other minimum, non-negotiated standards. These rules are the minimum basic requirements, by law, under which an employer may engage an employee to work. But, either through negotiations (collective bargaining) or other factors (competition, labor pool, skills, education, training, etc.), these minimum standards are often well below the prevailing wage.
Other labor standards established by government may fall under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Company Policy, Procedure, and Bargaining Agreements
Owners and company managers also set policies and procedures that reflect the organization's decisions regarding employee relations issues such as, but not limited to: productivity, safety, labor cost, employee development, quality of work life, equal opportunity, hiring, firing, work conditions, etc. Most companies place these policies and procedures in writing and maintain them in an employment manual. Guidelines and even entire manuals are available online or by subscription. This is the common reference used by employees and managers to determine their rights and privileges. Policies do not exist within a vacuum. They are an expression of the company's values and culture. Most companies maintain a human resources department to maintain and enforce the policies and procedures in the manual.
As mentioned under Legislative Compliance, numerous policies of an organization are determined by collective bargaining agreements. Items that often fall under these agreements that have significant impact upon the company culture are safety equipment, uniforms and attire, physical surroundings, and numerous other issues.
Definition of Employee
State laws provide broad-brush descriptions of employees, such as an employee as "any person holding a position subject to appointment, removal, promotion, or reduction by an appointing authority." Beside broad, general descriptions, there may be: employment classes, titles, grades, positions, etc. Each of these usually has its own job description, compensation, hours, and perks.
There are also many examples of non-employees. These may include:
(The most commonly misunderstood instance is that of someone who is an "independent contractor." The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a multi-point outline of requirements for meeting the definition of an Independent Contractor.)
Volunteers, contractors, and other personnel who are not employees are still subject to many policies such as equal opportunity, environment free of harassment, ethics, etc. These employment situations should also be covered in the Employment Manual.
Nature of Appointment
A manager normally defines the nature of the appointment when first defining the type of job, the job need and the anticipated future of that job need. Choices are status - full-time or part-time, classification - permanent, temporary, or job/task.
Employment Status
Usually, the company recognizes two employment status conditions: Full-time and Part-time. Full-time requires a work week of between 35 and 40 hours. Part-time by default is any work week that is less than that determined by the company to be full-time.
Employment Classification
Depending upon the nature of the organization, its staff, and their functions, there may be numerous employment classifications. Examples of these are executive, managerial, professional, paraprofessional, production, etc. For more information and guidelines about employment classifications, please consult our staff.
FLSA Nomenclature
When focusing on work rules, there are two terms from FLSA (the Fair Labor Standards Act) that are most important terms to know. They are: Exempt or Non-exempt. These terms define to whom the act applies. Using a certain set of legal criteria, some positions fall under the act and are, therefore, 'non-exempt.' This means these positions are not exempt from the provisions of the law. The term 'exempt' applies those positions that are exempt from certain provisions of the law. Check with your human resources professionals to determine those positions within your organization that are exempt or non-exempt.
Some examples of exempt employees (based on type of work and level of annual salary, actual pay may be paid in increments of weekly, monthly, etc.) are:
In most organizations, the exempt or non-exempt status of a position is first designed prior to the creation of a position, and then updated on an on-going basis as positions change. It is the jobs that are exempt or non-exempt, not the people who perform them. The criteria used are defined by FLSA and must be applied consistently. The terms 'exempt' and 'non-exempt' are the foundation for most work rules. Further, it must be noted that FLSA requires employers to follow strict rules on recording and paying non-exempt employees.
Therefore, documentation is essential in order to have an audit trail of work and paid time. For this reason, many organizations with 20 or more employees find it very helpful to have a time & attendance system in place to simplify and streamline the process of employee timekeeping. This also ensures accurate compliance with work rules.
More Information
This has by no means been an exhaustive explanation of the many variables that go into the creation of fair, effective, and efficient work rules. Some topics that have not yet been covered in this section are:
- State and Federal Legislative Compliance
- Company Policy, Procedure, and Bargaining Agreements
- Definition of Employee
- Nature of Appointment
- Employment Status
- Employment Classification
- FLSA Nomenclature
State and Federal Legislative Compliance
Legislative compliance is the basis for nearly all employment policies. Employers in all sectors of the economy must first comply with the laws spelled out by the city, state, and federal government. These laws define what an employee is, how many hours they may work at regular hourly pay, how overtime is determined, minimum hourly wages, and other minimum, non-negotiated standards. These rules are the minimum basic requirements, by law, under which an employer may engage an employee to work. But, either through negotiations (collective bargaining) or other factors (competition, labor pool, skills, education, training, etc.), these minimum standards are often well below the prevailing wage.
Other labor standards established by government may fall under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Company Policy, Procedure, and Bargaining Agreements
Owners and company managers also set policies and procedures that reflect the organization's decisions regarding employee relations issues such as, but not limited to: productivity, safety, labor cost, employee development, quality of work life, equal opportunity, hiring, firing, work conditions, etc. Most companies place these policies and procedures in writing and maintain them in an employment manual. Guidelines and even entire manuals are available online or by subscription. This is the common reference used by employees and managers to determine their rights and privileges. Policies do not exist within a vacuum. They are an expression of the company's values and culture. Most companies maintain a human resources department to maintain and enforce the policies and procedures in the manual.
As mentioned under Legislative Compliance, numerous policies of an organization are determined by collective bargaining agreements. Items that often fall under these agreements that have significant impact upon the company culture are safety equipment, uniforms and attire, physical surroundings, and numerous other issues.
Definition of Employee
State laws provide broad-brush descriptions of employees, such as an employee as "any person holding a position subject to appointment, removal, promotion, or reduction by an appointing authority." Beside broad, general descriptions, there may be: employment classes, titles, grades, positions, etc. Each of these usually has its own job description, compensation, hours, and perks.
There are also many examples of non-employees. These may include:
- Personnel working for an employment agency firm or an outsourced bureau
- Volunteers
- Employees of a consortium for whom we are the fiscal agent
- Independent contractors
- Researchers or others who are working here but paid by another entity (interns)
(The most commonly misunderstood instance is that of someone who is an "independent contractor." The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a multi-point outline of requirements for meeting the definition of an Independent Contractor.)
Volunteers, contractors, and other personnel who are not employees are still subject to many policies such as equal opportunity, environment free of harassment, ethics, etc. These employment situations should also be covered in the Employment Manual.
Nature of Appointment
A manager normally defines the nature of the appointment when first defining the type of job, the job need and the anticipated future of that job need. Choices are status - full-time or part-time, classification - permanent, temporary, or job/task.
Employment Status
Usually, the company recognizes two employment status conditions: Full-time and Part-time. Full-time requires a work week of between 35 and 40 hours. Part-time by default is any work week that is less than that determined by the company to be full-time.
Employment Classification
Depending upon the nature of the organization, its staff, and their functions, there may be numerous employment classifications. Examples of these are executive, managerial, professional, paraprofessional, production, etc. For more information and guidelines about employment classifications, please consult our staff.
FLSA Nomenclature
When focusing on work rules, there are two terms from FLSA (the Fair Labor Standards Act) that are most important terms to know. They are: Exempt or Non-exempt. These terms define to whom the act applies. Using a certain set of legal criteria, some positions fall under the act and are, therefore, 'non-exempt.' This means these positions are not exempt from the provisions of the law. The term 'exempt' applies those positions that are exempt from certain provisions of the law. Check with your human resources professionals to determine those positions within your organization that are exempt or non-exempt.
Some examples of exempt employees (based on type of work and level of annual salary, actual pay may be paid in increments of weekly, monthly, etc.) are:
- Unclassified Employee
- Administrative
- Administrative/Professional
- Manager
- Supervisor
- Unclassified Staff
- Civil Service
- Classified
- Clerical
- Technical
- Trades
- Unclassified Hourly
- Hourly Paid
In most organizations, the exempt or non-exempt status of a position is first designed prior to the creation of a position, and then updated on an on-going basis as positions change. It is the jobs that are exempt or non-exempt, not the people who perform them. The criteria used are defined by FLSA and must be applied consistently. The terms 'exempt' and 'non-exempt' are the foundation for most work rules. Further, it must be noted that FLSA requires employers to follow strict rules on recording and paying non-exempt employees.
Therefore, documentation is essential in order to have an audit trail of work and paid time. For this reason, many organizations with 20 or more employees find it very helpful to have a time & attendance system in place to simplify and streamline the process of employee timekeeping. This also ensures accurate compliance with work rules.
More Information
This has by no means been an exhaustive explanation of the many variables that go into the creation of fair, effective, and efficient work rules. Some topics that have not yet been covered in this section are:
- Exempt or non-exempt: what is authorized?
- Non-exempt timekeeping: tracking time on the job
- Exempt productivity: tracking time off the job
- Flexible work week
- Bringing work home
- Telecommuting
- Lunch "hours"
- Break times
- Procedures for approving overtime
- The repeat late arrival