To ensure that an employee’s exemptions status is correctly recorded in the payroll system, an automatic audit is performed each week, when a payroll process is performed on Tuesday nights. This process compares the "Employee Exemption Status" data with the "Job Title Exemption Status" data. If the two are compatible, no further actions are generated or required. However, if the two data fields conflict, then a notice will be generated and the employing department will have to correct the "Employee Exemption Status."

Discrepancies between the two data fields will appear in ISW, the Information Services Web hosted by the Financial Services Office. On Wednesdays of non-pay weeks, any conflict message will appear under the individual’s record on the Time Roster Worksheet. On Wednesdays of pay weeks, any conflict message will appear under the individual’s record on the Final On-line Time Roster.

Correcting the Employee Exemption Status

To correct the "Employee Exemption Status", the departmental business office generates and submits a correction PAF, with an effective date retroactive to the original employment action. Refer to the Payroll Processing Schedules to determine document submission deadlines established by Systems Control.
Note: The "Employee Exemption Status" is the only data field that a department may change; the "Job Title Exemption Status" is determined centrally by Human Resources.

Correcting Time Records and Adjusting Pay

As part of the correction process, the employee and the supervisor will need to review the employee’s time worked for the period the employee’s exemption status was incorrect. The time records need to be modified appropriately, and if any overtime hours were worked when an employee should have been classified as nonexempt, then the employee must be compensated in accordance with the University’s FLSA and Overtime policy.

Employee Time Recordkeeping

Detailed employee time recordkeeping instructions are available at www.fso.arizona.edu/Payroll/index.html and related FAQ’s are available at www.hr.arizona.edu/files/FLSA_FAQs.doc. In general, though, there is one recordkeeping standard for nonexempt employees, and there are two recordkeeping options for exempt employees. Nonexe mpt employees record the number of hours worked each day. Exempt employees record either ‘presence at work’ or ‘exception time’ depending on the operating decisions of the department.

Adjusting Pay

1. Generating Overtime Time Earned in a Prior Pay Period The employee’s "Employee Exemption Status" as reflected on screen 02 of PSOS must be "N" (nonexempt) before retroactive overtime may be reported and paid. To generate overtime pay in dollars for the employee’s next paycheck, process a Payroll Online Payment Request (POPR).  To generate a balance for the employee’s compensatory time off, process a Vacation/Sick/Comp Adjustment form. Payroll processing calendars are located here.

2. Paying Off Accrued Compensatory Time Balance for an Employee Changing to Exempt If the employee earned compensatory time off, and is changing from nonexempt to exempt, the balance of the compensatory time must be paid in full to the employee in the employee’s next paycheck. Payroll representatives will generate a Payroll Online Payment Request (POPR) to pay off the compensatory time balance.

Select "Change of Status, Vacation and/or Comp Time Payoff" as the reason for creating the POPR. Using the drop down menu,

• select the employee’s position associated with the nonexempt job title,
• select the pay end date for the pay period that the exemption status changed,
• select "CO" as the Earnings Type, and
• submit the POPR for approval.