Important Payroll Reminders

From Human Resources and the Business Office

As we start the new year with new employees, please read the following reminders so that HU stays in compliance with our state and federal laws. Thank you for your assistance.

The U.S. Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Affordable Care Act have regulations in place that employers are required to follow regarding payroll. Employees and supervisors of Huntington University need to be notified of these regulations so that the University stays in compliance with the law. Please read the following and contact the Human Resources or Business Office if you have questions or concerns.

• Employees paid on an hourly basis must receive at least minimum wage (currently $7.25 per hour in Indiana and $10.50 per hour in Arizona) and may not be employed for more than 40 hours in a week without receiving overtime (one and one-half times their regular rate).
• HU defines the 40 hour workweek as starting at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday and ending at 12:00 midnight the following Saturday.
• All hours worked in a workweek must be reported on an official time card for that period. Hours cannot be carried over to another workweek or given as paid time off at a later date.
• Overtime hours that are not budgeted must be approved by a senior leader and will be charged directly to the departmental operating budget.
• Hourly employees may not “volunteer” to work. The US Department of Labor specifically states that the reason for volunteering is immaterial. The hours are work time and compensable.
• A part-time employee is defined as an employee who works less than 30 hours per week. If an employee exceeds 30 hours per week the University risks being out of compliance with the Affordable Care Act. This also applies to student employees. The supervisor and employee should monitor the part-time employees hours so that they do not exceed 30 hours per week.
• Student employees are considered employees under all federal and state employment law and therefore all of these regulations apply to them as well.
• Additional information can be found in the Staff Employee Handbook on the portal. Go to the Personnel page and click on the link under the “Employee Directory” heading.

We appreciate that these regulations can be onerous and can minimize our options so we are thankful for your assistance with following the law and to keeping HU from legal concerns.