ARTICLE 6

PAY AND HOURS


6.1 RATES SPECIFIED

Employees shall be compensated for hours worked at the appropriate hourly rate specified for their job title in Addendum A. Such compensation shall commence upon the date of hire or when specified in this agreement. No employee shall suffer a reduction in wages because of the adoption of this agreement. No employee shall receive a rate higher than the negotiated rate contained in this addendum.

6.2 LONGEVITY PAY

Employees shall receive longevity pay in accordance with state statutes.  Present law grants each employee who has completed five (5) years of uninterrupted service 1.5% of their base salary multiplied by the number of completed, contiguous five (5) year periods of uninterrupted service.  In addition, each employee who has completed fifteen (15) or twenty (20) years of interrupted state service receives an additional 0.5% of the employee’s base salary for each of those additional five (5) years of uninterrupted service.

6.3 PREMIUM PAY

Nonexempt employees, defined as those employees covered by the minimum wage and overtime provisions of state and federal law, are entitled to pay in excess of their normal hourly rate included in Addendum A in the amounts and under the circumstances specified below.

A. Overtime

When a nonexempt employee is required to work in excess of eight (8) hours per shift or in excess of forty (40) hours per week, the employee is eligible for overtime at the rate of one and one-half (1-1/2) times the normal rate of pay for all overtime worked. If an employee agrees to an alternate work schedule such as ten (10) hours per day, forty (40) hours per week, only those hours in excess of forty (40) hours per week shall be considered overtime and paid at one and one-half (1-1/2) times the normal rate.

  1. Approval Required

In order to constitute overtime for which an employee is entitled to be paid, the employee must have obtained the approval of the supervisor prior to working the additional time. It is the responsibility of supervisors to ensure that employees do not work any undesired overtime and the responsibility of employees to limit overtime to that requested by their supervisors.

  1. Time Worked

For purposes of computing the eight (8) hour day or the forty (40) hour week to determine entitlement to overtime pay, all sick leave, vacation leave, and holidays shall count as time worked.

B. Compensatory Time Option for Employees

Upon agreement of the employer and the affected employee(s), an employee may receive compensatory time in lieu of overtime in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The following conditions will prevail concerning compensatory time:

  1. Compensatory time for nonexempt employees will accrue at the rate of one and one-half (1-1/2) hours for each one (1) hour of overtime worked.
  2. The maximum amount of time which may be accumulated is 160 hours of overtime worked or 240 hours of compensatory time; however, the employing campus may establish lower maximums.
  3. An employee must have the appropriate supervisor's prior approval to use accumulated compensatory time.
  4. If employment is terminated, any unused compensatory time will be paid to the employee at the regular rate of pay at the time of termination or the average regular rate received by the employee during the last three (3) years of the employee's employment, whichever is higher. The employing campus may establish other timeframes in which compensatory time for nonexempt employees must be used or will be cashed out.

C. Call Outs

Employees who are called out for work and report outside their regular eight (8) hour shift or forty (40) hour workweek shall be paid for a minimum of two (2) hours at the rate of one and one-half (1-1/2) times the regular rate of pay. It is understood that this provision does not apply to work which occurs immediately prior or immediately after the work day.

D. Show Up Guarantee

It shall be the responsibility of the supervisor to notify any regular full-time employee whose services will not be required for any scheduled shift. Any such employee who shows up for work at the regularly scheduled time because the supervisor failed to give such notice shall be guaranteed four (4) hours of work. If no work is available, the employee shall receive four (4) hours of regular pay in lieu of work.

6.4 PAY AND DEDUCTIONS

The employer shall establish regular pay days and shall furnish each employee an itemized statement of the purpose and amount of every deduction from wages. The union shall be given advance notification of any permanent change in dates employees are to be paid. Any employee shall be entitled upon written request to have any of the following deducted from wages: university sponsored health or life insurance, approved tax sheltered annuities, and dues or service fee to bargaining agent. Other deductions may be made with approval of the designated campus representative. (39-3-101, M.C.A.)

6.5 WAGE WITHHOLDING

The employer has the right to withhold from wages or any other payment due an employee, any amount the employee owes the employer or which the employee unjustly received from the employer.

6.6 INSURANCE COVERAGE

A. Group Insurance

The employer contribution to health insurance for eligible employees shall be in accordance with state statute. The employer will continue to make insurance contributions on behalf of employees for up to four (4) months while an employee is on a workers' compensation leave of absence as a result of an injury sustained while employed at a unit of the university system.

B. Unemployment and Workers' Compensation

Employees are eligible for unemployment compensation and workers' compensation in accordance with state law.

6.7 RETIREMENT

Employees shall participate in the applicable public employees retirement system in accordance with state law.

6.8 REST PERIODS

Each employee shall be allowed a fifteen (15) minute rest break in both the first and second half of each eight (8) hour shift. It shall be the supervisor's responsibility to make time available to ensure each employee receives such rest break. Such break shall be taken without loss of pay and the employee shall not be required to make up such time.

6.9 MEAL PERIODS

No employee shall be scheduled to work more than five (5) consecutive hours without being allowed a meal period except in cases of emergency. No meal period shall be for less than one-half (1/2) hour.

6.10 WORK DAY / WORK WEEK

The standard work day for full-time employees shall typically consist of eight (8) hours per day between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. except for temporary scheduling necessitated by exceptional circumstances. The standard workweek for full-time employees shall typically consist of forty (40) hours per week, Monday through Friday inclusive, except for temporary scheduling necessitated by exceptional circumstances. Alternate schedules may be implemented by mutual agreement of the parties to this agreement.

6.11 CLEAN UP TIME

Each employee shall be given a reasonable amount of time before lunch and before the end of the shift for the purpose of clean up.


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