for Professional Staff

This policy is designed to provide eligible members of the College’s professional staff the opportunity to voluntarily reduce their work hours during the summer months.  The objective of this policy is to accommodate the needs of staff members who want additional time off during the summer months, while maintaining excellent service to students, prospective students, and their families, faculty and professional staff, alumni and friends of the College, and other members of the Franklin & Marshall community.

Eligibility

Full-time members of the professional staff, with the exceptions noted below, may voluntarily request a reduction to their typical working hours per this policy.  This policy is maintained for the convenience of members of the College’s professional staff. 

Full-time members of the professional staff must continue to work at least 1,560 total hours during the fiscal year to remain eligible for fringe benefits coverage.

Due to the nature of their work and the need for around-the-clock coverage, Public Safety Officers, Dispatchers, and Public Safety Sergeants are not eligible to reduce their summer work hours per this policy.  At the discretion of the appropriate Senior Officer, other members of the professional staff may not be eligible to voluntarily reduce their work hours during the summer months, due to the nature of their positions.

Members of the professional staff working on a part-time basis are generally scheduled to provide office coverage when needed.  As such, modifying their work hours per this policy may not be an option.  However, part-time members of the professional staff are not specifically precluded from requesting a modification to their work hours per this policy, if service to their customers can be maintained at an entirely satisfactory level.

Policy

A member of the professional staff, upon approval from his/her department manager or chair and Senior Officer, may voluntarily reduce his/her work hours during the summer months as follows:

• Work hours may voluntarily be reduced, with proper approval, during the fiscal year - between July 1 and the Friday before classes begin in August, and/or from the Monday following Commencement in May through June 30.  For example, a professional staff member may elect to work 4 days per week from July 1  through August 15, and 4 days per week from the following May 17 through June 30. 

• For “exempt” members of the professional staff (those who do not complete time sheets), the schedule reduction must equal at least one full work week / 5 days.  The days away from work need not be consecutive, but, for exempt staff, total days away from work during the fiscal year must be evenly divisible by 5 (for example, an exempt member of the professional staff may request to reduce his/her work schedule by a total of 5, 10, 15 days, etc.).

• “Non-exempt” members of the professional staff (those who complete time sheets) should be aware that their salary paid every two weeks will vary throughout the fiscal year, and will be based on the number of hours they actually work during a pay period.

• Full-time members of the professional staff must continue to work at least 1,560 total hours during the fiscal year to remain eligible for fringe benefits coverage.

• Approval of a reduction to normal working hours is contingent upon the professional staff member being able to perform his/her job duties in a thoroughly satisfactory manner.  The needs of the department and “customers” (students, prospective students, parents, colleagues, alumni, prospective donors, etc.) must continue to be met.  Additionally, a schedule rearrangement may not negatively impact the ability of the professional staff member's colleagues to perform their job duties effectively.

• The professional staff member will be expected to coordinate time away from work to best suit the needs of his/her department and based on workload and job duties.

• Managers / department chairs reserve the right to limit the number of days by which a member of the professional staff may reduce his/her schedule.

• Approval of a staff member’s request to reduce his/her summer work hours is contingent upon the department or office being able to continue to operate without incurring overtime costs or other additional costs.

• The professional staff member must request a summer work hour reduction in a timely manner (prior to June 1), following the process outlined below.

• A reduction to work hours during the summer months should not result in the need to work increased hours during other times of the year.

Salary and Benefits

Annual Salary-- For professional staff permitted to reduce their work hours during the summer months, annualized base salary for the fiscal year will be reduced proportionally.   An exempt staff member’s reduced salary will be paid in equal installments over each pay period during the fiscal year.  The bi-weekly salary of a non-exempt member of the staff (a staff member who completes time sheets) will vary based on actual hours worked and recorded on time sheets each pay period.

Examples:

1. The annual salary of an exempt member of the professional staff is $36,400, or the equivalent of $700 per week ($36,400/52 weeks = $700).   If this professional staff member reduces her work schedule by a total of 15 days (3 work weeks) during the summer months between July and the following June, she will work the equivalent of 49 weeks instead of 52.  This staff member’s new before-tax annual salary will be $34,300 (49 weeks x $700/week = $34,300).  This reduced salary - $34,300 – will be paid evenly over 26 bi-weekly pay periods during the fiscal year.

2. A member of the non-exempt professional staff will continue to receive his/her normal hourly rate for each hour actually worked each pay period.  A non-exempt staff member's actual salary per bi-weekly pay period will vary based on the number of hours he/she works during that pay period.  For example, if a staff member's hourly rate is $17.00, he will be paid $1,360 if working 80 hours during a two-week pay period ($17.00 x 80 hours) and $1,020 if working 60 hours during a two-week pay period.

Note: Per federal and state regulations, Human Resources reserves the right to require that a reduced work schedule arrangement be modified to assure a non-exempt member of the professional staff earns at least minimum wage for each work hour during the fiscal year, and an exempt staff member earns at least $455 during any week in which any work is performed. For non-exempt employees, the actual hourly rate paid will vary per pay period based on the number of hours worked each pay period.

Fringe Benefits

Benefits coverage will continue during a voluntary reduction to work hours, providing the full-time staff member works at least 1,560 total hours during the fiscal year.  However, there will be a reduction in benefit levels for those benefits that are calculated based on salary. 

An eligible exempt professional staff member will receive a College-paid retirement contribution during the fiscal year equal to 12% (15% for those hired on or before 7/1/2006) of the staff member’s reduced salary.  For non-exempt staff, the College's contribution may vary each pay period based on actual hours worked and associated earnings.  Life insurance coverage will equal 1.5 times reduced salary, up to a maximum coverage level of $100,000.  Long-term disability insurance coverage will equal 60% of reduced salary.

Health plan premiums, dental premiums, and other deductions will continue to be deducted from each pay.  Full-time members of the professional staff will remain eligible for paid vacation days, paid sick days, and, for non-exempt staff members, paid personal hours and Family Illness hours per standard College policies, based on length of College service.

Request/Approval Process

1. A professional staff member who wants to voluntarily reduce his/her work hours as outlined above is to make a request to his/her manager or department chair by May 15 of each fiscal year.  As noted above, a staff member may reduce his/her work hours during the summer months, effective the coming July 1.

The professional staff member's request is to include:

• a detailed description of the hours / days / weeks the professional staff member will not work during the summer months (“summer months” equals between July 1 and the Friday before classes begin in August, and/or from the Monday following Commencement the next May through June 30), and
• an explanation of how the staff member will assure his/her work performance and service to students, colleagues, and other members of the College community will be maintained at a thoroughly satisfactory level.

(As noted above, full-time members of the professional staff must generally continue to work at least 1,560 total hours during the fiscal year to remain eligible for fringe benefits coverage.)

2. The manager / department chair will review the request, in consultation with his/her Senior Officer, and respond based on the guidelines provided through this policy. 

Before approving a request for reduced summer hours, the manager/ department chair must assure the professional staff member's job performance, departmental effectiveness, and service can be maintained at a thoroughly satisfactory level, and without incurring overtime or other additional costs.  As noted above, reduced summer work hours should not result in the need for the staff member to work increased hours during the academic year.

3. The professional staff member must submit a signed Reduced Summer Work Hours Agreement Form to Human Resources by the June 1 prior to the start of the coming fiscal year, acknowledging that he/she is voluntarily reducing work hours and will experience a corresponding reduction in salary and associated benefit levels.  The professional staff member’s manager or department chair and Senior Officer must sign this Agreement before it is submitted to Human Resources. 

The staff member must write on the Agreement the total work weeks (for exempt employees) or the total number of work hours excluding any overtime (for non-exempt employees) he/she plans to work during the coming fiscal year:

• For exempt members of the professional staff, the staff member must indicate the number of full weeks the staff member will work during the coming fiscal year.  As noted above, for exempt members of the professional staff (those who do not complete time sheets), the schedule reduction must equal at least one full work week / 5 days, and total days away from work during the fiscal year must be evenly divisible by 5.  

• For non-exempt members of the professional staff (those who complete time sheets), the staff member must indicate the total number of hours he/she will be scheduled to work during the coming fiscal year (between July 1 and the following June 30), excluding any overtime.  For example, if the staff member normally works 1,820 annual hours (35 per week) and will work 100 less hours via this policy, new annual work hours will equal 1,720.

Human Resources reserves the right to require that a reduced work schedule arrangement be modified to assure a non-exempt member of the professional staff earns at least minimum wage for each work hour during the fiscal year, and an exempt staff member earns at least $455 during any week in which any work is performed.

Although reducing one’s work hours is voluntary, once an Agreement is signed, it will be irrevocable during the fiscal year.  The professional staff member must then work the reduced hours he/she has requested.

Additional Information

• Non-exempt members of the professional staff are required to record their actual working hours on time sheets each pay period and will be paid each pay period based on the number of hours actually worked.

• The intent of this policy is to allow members of the professional staff to request reduced work hours during the summer months.  A member of the professional staff who needs to modify his/her work hours but does not wish to reduce total work hours should see the Flexible Work Hours Policy.

• Following consultation with his/her Senior Officer and the Director, Human Resources, a manager or department chair may require a professional staff member to revert to traditional working hours if the staff member's reduced summer working hours hinder his/her effectiveness, service, or the department's productivity.  The professional staff member’s salary and associated benefits will be adjusted accordingly.

This policy may be modified or discontinued at any time, at the sole discretion of the College.

Adopted 3/13/2009
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Policy Maintained by: Human Resources, Associate Vice President
Last Reviewed: July 25, 2016