Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Scenarios in Workday

Workday Business Process and Reason: Change Job (Promotion) 

Explanation of Reason:  

• Promoted (move to a higher salary grade) through a title change of existing job from Non-Exempt to Exempt. 

Common Scenario:  

• Employee A is hired as a Financial Specialist II (FN007, University Staff, Salary Grade 16, Non-Exempt). Two years into their employment they take on more complex duties and now would be more appropriately titled Financial Specialist III (FN008, Academic Staff, Salary Grade 18, Exempt). The Division submits a title review, and a compensation change request, and the requests are approved. This employee will be moved to the new title (job profile) and their new salary will be above the salary threshold as requested. Employee A will be an Exempt employee. 

Workday Job Aids:

• Change Employees Job
• Change Job Reasons 

Workday Business Process and Reason: Change Job (FLSA Adjustment)

Explanation of Reason:

• Employee in a title that is an exempt job based on duties, but the employee’s pay falls below the salary threshold and therefore they are Non-Exempt. If this employee receives a base increase (performance, parity, etc.) and now their salary increases above the salary threshold and duties are exempt, the employee can be made exempt.
• Can also be used if an employee has two jobs, and combination of both jobs makes them exempt, but one of the jobs ends, and the remaining job needs to be made non-exempt.
• Can be used if an employee has one job that has exempt duties, but they fall below the salary threshold, and then they are hired into a concurrent job that pushes them above the salary threshold. Would be used to update the existing job.

Common Scenario:

• Employee B is hired as an Academic Program Specialist (AE010, Academic Staff, Salary Grade 17) with a salary of $42,000, which is below the current annual salary threshold of $43,888. Because their duties are exempt, but their salary is below the salary threshold, they must be made Non-Exempt. It is determined after one year in this role that Employee B has exceptional performance, and the School has decided to give them a $4,200 (10%) increase. This increase brings their annual salary to $46,200, which is above the salary threshold. This employee will need to have their Job Profile changed to the Exempt version in Workday.

Workday Job Aids:

• Change Employees Job
• Change Job Reasons 

Workday Business Process and Reason: Change Job (FLSA Adjustment – FTE Change)

Explanation of Reason:

• Change between Exempt and Non-Exempt FLSA Statuses due to change in FTE. An FTE increase or decrease impacts salary pushing them either above or below the salary threshold.

Common Scenario:

• Employee C is hired into an Administrative Specialist position (AD006, Academic Staff, Salary Grade 19) that is 0.75 FTE at a Full-time salary of $50,000. Their prorated annual salary is $37,500 ($50,000 X 0.75). Because their duties are exempt, but they are below the salary threshold, they must be hired as Non-Exempt. After a year they determine the workload will be increasing to 1.0 FTE, which will bring them up to an annual salary of $50,000. Because their duties are exempt and they are now above the salary threshold, this employee will need to have their Job Profile changed to the Exempt version in Workday in addition to the FTE change.

Workday Job Aids:

• Change Employees Job
• Change Job Reasons 

Workday Business Process and Reason: Request Compensation Change (FLSA Adjustment)

Explanation of Reason:

• Used to increase compensation above the new salary threshold so that the employee is not made Non-Exempt based on salary.

Common Scenario:

• Employee D is hired at $36,000 in a position which has exempt duties. Their salary is above the FLSA threshold at the time of hire. A year later, the salary threshold is increased to $43,888 per year, so the Division decides to increase their salary above the new salary threshold because their duties are exempt, and they want to ensure the employee remains exempt. This code would only be used when the salary threshold amount changes and cannot be done at any other time.

Workday Job Aids:

• Request Compensation Change (Base Building)

Workday Business Process and Reason: End Job and Change Job (Various Reasons)

Explanation of Reason:

• If an employee has two jobs, the duties are both exempt and the combination of both jobs allows them to be exempt. If one of the jobs is ended, the remaining job may fall below the threshold and may need to be made Non-Exempt.

Common Scenario:

• Employee E has two concurrent positions. The first position is an Administrative Specialist (AD006, Academic Staff, Salary Grade 19) that is 0.75 FTE at a Full-time salary of $50,000. Their prorated annual salary is $37,500 ($50,000 X 0.75). The second position is an Academic Advisor (ADE002, Academic Staff, Salary Grade 18) that is 0.25 FTE at a Full-time salary of $50,000. Their prorated annual salary is $12,500 ($50,000 X 0.25). The duties in both jobs are exempt, and the combination of both positions bring the employee above the salary threshold so they are considered exempt. The employee’s Academic Advisor contract is fixed terminal, and the job ends. Based on that job ending, the Administrative Specialist needs to be evaluated for FLSA status. Because the duties are exempt, but the annual compensation is below the salary threshold, the Academic Specialist will now need to be made non-exempt, and the Job Profile updated by using the Change Job process.

Workday Job Aids:

• End Additional Job
• Switch Primary Job in Workday
• Change Employees Job
• Change Job Reasons 

Workday Business Process and Reason: Add Job and Change Job (Various Reasons)

Explanation of Reason:

• If an employee has one job, and the duties are exempt but they fall below the salary threshold, and they are hired into a concurrent job with exempt duties. The combination of both jobs will need to be evaluated to determine if they should be made exempt.

Common Scenario:

• Employee F is an Administrative Specialist (AD006, Academic Staff, Salary Grade 19) that is 0.75 FTE at a Full-time salary of $50,000. Their prorated annual salary is $37,500 ($50,000 X 0.75). Their duties are exempt, but their salary is below the salary threshold, so they are non-exempt. After working for the university for 1 year, there is an opportunity for them to be hired into a concurrent position as an Academic Advisor (ADE002, Academic Staff, Salary Grade 18) that is 0.25 FTE at a Full-time salary of $50,000. Their prorated annual salary is $12,500 ($50,000 X 0.25). Both positions have exempt duties, and combination of their total compensation is $50,000, therefore, both positions need to be made exempt. Their existing job will need to be changed using Change Job to update their Job Profile, and the new job will be added using add job.

Workday Job Aids:

• Add Additional Job
• Switch Primary Job in Workday
• Change Employees Job
• Change Job Reasons 

FLSA Resources

• Compensable Hours Worked Presentation
• Considerations for Raise to FLSA Minimum
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• FLSA Break-even Analysis Calculator 2024
• Joint Employment
• Overtime, HR Policy UW-5030
• Primary Duty Definition Guidance
• Research and Sponsored Programs - FLSA Frequently Asked Questions 
• Status of Student Hourlies, Post Degree Training, and Student Assistants Under the FLSA
• Summer Appointments for C-basis Employees - FLSA Determination

FLSA Exemptions

• Academic Administrative Exemption
• Camp Counselor Exemption
• Exemption Definitions
• Job Codes Exemption from FLSA Salary Threshold Changes