Many professionals in SUNY normally work a professional obligation and are not tied to particular hours, although they work 37.5 to 40 hours a week depending on campus past practice.

These employees are classified as “exempt” and are not eligible to receive overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, they are entitled to compensatory time for service worked beyond their normal professional obligation as defined in the second type of compensatory time in Appendix A-29 of the Agreement between New York State and UUP.

Under the FLSA, professional employees whose professional obligation is directly tied to hours worked are classified as “nonexempt” and are eligible for overtime after working 40 hours. You must determine whether you are “exempt” or “nonexempt” to know which type of compensation you are entitled to receive. If you need help determining your category, contact your UUP chapter officers.

If you are “nonexempt” and work more than 40 hours in a week, those overtime hours are calculated at 1.5 times your normal hourly wage. Up to 240 hours of overtime can be banked. (Please note that because of the 1.5 times the hourly rate factor, you actually worked 160 hours in order to bank the 240 hours.)

After you have accumulated 240 hours in your bank, you must be paid for your overtime, which will show up in your bi-weekly paycheck. Other factors to keep in mind: You are paid for the hours accrued in this bank at the rate you are earning when you leave SUNY; and the campus may choose to pay you from the first overtime hour earned.

Whenever you are faced with an overtime situation, it is important to get your supervisor’s approval before working the extra hours. Your supervisor only has the option to approve or not approve the extra hours. If you are classified as “nonexempt,” according to the FLSA you cannot work overtime without the appropriate compensation.

All professionals who are “exempt” from earning overtime can earn compensatory time. Compensatory time has been around for a long time and it is defined in our contract (Appendix A-29). Comp time can be earned for performing your duties beyond your normal professional obligation and can be used at a mutually agreed upon time in the future. It is not accrued hour for hour or by any other factor.

For example, you normally work Monday through Friday. On Thursday, your supervisor asks you to work on Saturday. That is the time you should discuss how much compensatory time you will earn for the extra work. In this situation, your supervisor might offer you another day off in order to compensate you for working the extra time. A sample memo is included at the end of Appendix A-29 and can be used to document the compensatory time.

There are many different scenarios in which you can earn compensatory time.

Whatever it may be, you should get the compensation commitment before you do the extra work.

From time to time, members tell me that their supervisor says that overtime and comp time do not exist in SUNY. That is absolutely not true. They do exist, and there is contract language and federal law to prove it.

Contact your UUP chapter leaders if compensation for extra work is not acknowledged by your immediate supervisor.