4.14.0 Pay Practice
A. Purpose
To establish pay policies and practices to promote consistency with pay differentials and compensation adjustments throughout UTT.
B. Persons Affected
This policy covers all employees of The University of Texas at Tyler and The Health Science Center at UT Tyler (collectively, the “University”).
C. Definitions
N/A
D. Policy
Any compensation adjustment is contingent upon the availability of funds and will be reviewed by Human Resources. If a state-mandated "cost of living" increase is approved by the Legislature, availability of funds for increases will be determined by the President's Office.
Compensation adjustments shall be reviewed and approved by Human Resources and the Department Leader. Annual increases shall be reviewed and approved by the Executive Council and the President's Office. In order to be eligible for an increase, an employee: shall be in a regular position a minimum of six (6) months; will not have received a promotion or transfer from one department to another within three (3) months; shall have no formal disciplinary action within twelve (12) months.
Differential Pay - Shift differential shall be paid at a rate of 15% of the non-exempt employee's base pay for qualified hours worked. A non-exempt employee working in departments, as approved by the Vice President of Human Resources, who have routine evening and/or night shifts shall receive shift differential for time worked between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 7:15 a.m. The employee must work a minimum of 4.75 hours of his/her scheduled shift during the stated time periods to qualify for this shift differential.
Float Differential Pay - Employees hired in the Nursing Resource Pool, as "floater" and scheduled to work on the "Float Schedule", may be eligible for a float differential. This float differential pay shall be $1.50 per hour for Psychiatric Nursing Assistants (PNAs) or Clinical Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and $2.50 per hour for Registered Nurses (RNs). This differential will be in addition to the employee’s base hourly rate. In the event an employee transfers from the Float Schedule Nursing Resource Pool to another nursing department, the float differential pay will be discontinued and the employee's base hourly rate will prevail. Once an employee transfers off the Float Schedule Nursing Resource Pool, he/she may not transfer back for a period of six (6) months. This float differential is only available to Nursing Resource Pool employees and is not available to nursing employees of other departments who randomly float.
Nursing Differential Pay - Nursing Differential shall be paid at a rate of $2.00 per hour. To qualify for this pay differential, an individual’s credentials, certifications, and or licensure from previous job experience must be relevant to the current position. Relevancy will be at the discretion of the appropriate nursing director, the Chief Nursing Officer, and Human Resources on an individual basis. If the employee is transferred to another department where the skills are not relevant, the differential pay will be discontinued, and the base hourly rate will prevail.
Critical Needs Pay - A critical need staffing event may occur during extended periods of high census and/or high vacancy rates. Critical Staffing Need Differential may only be approved under exceptional circumstances and is not to be used for routine staffing challenges.
Prior approval in writing by an Administrative Officer (CEO, CFO, CNO, COO, or CHRO) of the business entity is required on a per-shift basis for Critical Staffing Need Differential to apply.
If it is determined that a critical staffing need event is not necessary, employees working the event shift should be released first before relieving staff working regular shift.
Eligibility:
Full-time, part-time and PRN (who are pre-scheduled for their full shift) non-exempt employees only:
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Job Code/Group
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Differential Amount
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RN
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$10.00
|
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LVN
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$ 6.00
|
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Unlicensed Staff
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$ 3.00
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Noted exclusions:
- Contract, temporary, or ETQCN staff are not eligible.
- Employees in “on-call” or “call-back” status are not eligible.
- Employees who have not completed their full weekly scheduled shift are not eligible.
- PRN employees who are not in good standing regarding their scheduling practice or compliance/education training are not eligible.
Procedure:
Department Directors may request consideration for Critical Staffing Need event. Once an event is approved by an Administrative Officer, the shift and time limit details will be sent in writing to HR and Payroll.
Incentive time worked will be paid by the department or facility in which the shift was worked. Critical Need Differential pay will be applied to the hourly pay for each hour worked during the event. Department leaders should code hours worked with pay code “RCSD”, “LCSD” or “PCSD”.
The employee must work a minimum of four (4) hours of unscheduled shift work in order to receive the differential pay.
Department leaders are responsible for managing the event and the financial impact. Utilization reports should be assessed each week noting the cost of the event.
Professional courtesy should be used in soliciting an employee across division departments and facilities. Nurse leaders should communicate with other departmental leaders to ensure the employee has met their own department’s shift commitment.
At no time should this policy be used to encourage staff to work unsafe amounts of shifts. Administrative Officers and department leaders as well as the participating employees are responsible to perform ongoing assessments for safe care of patients.
Weekend Differential Pay - Weekend differential shall be paid at a rate of 20% of the non-exempt employee's base pay. A non-exempt employee who is: (1) required to work to provide direct patient care in a patient care department, as approved by the Vice President of Human Resources; and (2) required to work fifty percent (50%) or more of his/her shift between 6:45 a.m. on Saturday to 7:15 a.m. on Monday; shall receive weekend differential for hours worked during these stated time periods. An employee hired for a weekend-only position will not be eligible for the weekend differential.
Holiday Differential Pay - Holiday differential shall be paid at a rate of 40% of the non-exempt employee's base pay. A non-exempt employee who is: (1) required to work on the designated holidays below to provide direct patient care as approved by the Vice President of Human Resources; and (2) required to work fifty percent 50% of his/her shift; shall receive holiday differential for hours worked during the stated time periods specified below. If eligible for holiday pay, the employee shall accrue a maximum of eight (8) hours of holiday compensatory time, subject to the Holiday Policy.
Eligible Holiday Differential Periods are:
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Holiday
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Beginning
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Ending
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Memorial Day
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6:45am Monday
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7:15am Tuesday
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July 4
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6:45am July 4
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7:15am July 5
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Labor Day
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6:45am Monday
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7:15am Tuesday
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Thanksgiving & Day After
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6:45am Thursday
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7:15am Saturday
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Christmas
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6:45am December 25
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7:15am December 26
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New Year's
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6:45am January 1
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7:15am January 2
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- Regardless of day of the week
Hazardous Duty Pay - Law enforcement personnel of UTT shall be entitled to hazardous duty pay in accordance with applicable state law. Such pay shall be in the amount of $10 per month for each year of eligible service, up to and including 30 years of service.
Eligibility - All full-time commissioned law enforcement personnel are eligible for hazardous duty pay.
Basis of Service - Any employee who on May 29, 1987, was receiving hazardous duty pay based upon total service (hazardous duty service or otherwise) is entitled to continue receiving Hazardous Duty Pay on that basis so long as they remain continuously employed in a hazardous duty position.
Any employee who received or is receiving longevity pay and transfers to or is hired into a position requiring the performance of hazardous duty after May 29, 1987, is entitled to continue to receive longevity pay based upon the years of state service that did not require the performance of hazardous duty. The employee is not, however, entitled to additional longevity pay for the period in which the employee receives hazardous duty pay.
Payment
- Payment of hazardous duty pay and changes in entitlement shall be based upon 12-month increments of service.
- Such payment shall not be prorated.
- After the completion of 12 months of service, hazardous duty pay commences on the first day of the next month at the specified rate and continues at that rate until the completion of another 12-month increment.
- A change in status occurring during the month will be effective the first of the following month. For example, an employee appointed on September 1 of a given year completes 12 months service on August 31, one year later. The hazardous duty payment will commence on the first day of the next month, which would be September 1. Accordingly, an employee appointed on September 2 of a given year will complete 12 months service on September 1, one year later. The hazardous duty payment will commence on the first day of the next month, which would be October 1.
Method of Payment
- Hazardous duty pay is considered a part of total compensation although the base salary rate of the employee is not affected by such payment.
- The inclusion of hazardous duty pay as part of total compensation affects federal withholding, the amount of group insurance and other benefit calculations, and retirement contributions.
- Hazardous duty pay shall not be considered in making calculations for lump sum payment of vacation upon termination. It shall, however, be considered in making calculation for lump sum payments of vacation and sick leave to the estate of a deceased employee.
If the employee receives longevity pay prior to becoming eligible for hazardous duty pay, then the employee is eligible to receive both. However, the time spent a hazardous duty position is not included in calculating future longevity pay increases.
Schedule –
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Years of Service
|
Monthly Pay
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Years of Service
|
Monthly Pay
|
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Over 1 and less than 2 years
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$10
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Over 16 and less than 17
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$160
|
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Over 2 and less than 3 years
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$20
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Over 17 and less than 18
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$170
|
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Over 3 and less than 4 years
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$30
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Over 18 and less than 19
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$180
|
|
Over 4 and less than 5 years
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$40
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Over 19 and less than 20
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$190
|
|
Over 5 and less than 6 years
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$50
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Over 20 and less than 21
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$200
|
|
Over 6 and less than 7
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$60
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Over 21 and less than 22
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$210
|
|
Over 7 and less than 8
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$70
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Over 22 and less than 23
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$220
|
|
Over 8 and less than 9
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$80
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Over 23 and less than 24
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$230
|
|
Over 9 and less than 10
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$90
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Over 24 and less than 25
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$240
|
|
Over 10 and less than 11
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$100
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Over 25 and less than 26
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$250
|
|
Over 11 and less than 12
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$110
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Over 26 and less than 27
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$260
|
|
Over 12 and less than 13
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$120
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Over 27 and less than 28
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$270
|
|
Over 13 and less than 14
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$130
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Over 28 and less than 29
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$280
|
|
Over 14 and less than 15
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$140
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Over 29 and less than 30
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$290
|
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Over 15 and less than 16
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$150
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Over 30
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$300
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Transfers to Hazardous Duty Pay Positions - A state employee who has received longevity pay for services performed in a position that does not require the performance of hazardous duty and transfers to a position eligible to receive hazardous duty pay is entitled to continue to receive longevity pay for the years of service to the state performed in the prior position, but does not accrue any additional longevity pay for the period in which the employee receives hazardous duty pay. Commissioned personnel transferring within UTT shall be given credit for prior service. An institution employing an individual on the first day of the month will be responsible for initiating and calculating hazardous duty pay.
Incentive Pay - Incentive Pay may be given when an agreement is made in writing at the beginning of a set time period that compensation will be paid in the future, if specific future criteria are met. These criteria must include objective terms that a neutral observer could determine have or have not been met. The agreement must pre-date the services being compensated. A non-appropriated fund source must be used for payment of Incentive Pay. All agreements must be reviewed by Human Resources and the Budget Office, and have approval of the appropriate Executive Officer and the President prior to being discussed with the employee(s).
Longevity Pay - All full-time non-faculty employees, excluding commissioned law enforcement personnel who are eligible for hazardous duty pay, shall be entitled to longevity pay if the employee:
- is a full-time employee on the first workday of the month
- is not on leave without pay on the first workday of the month
- has accrued at least two (2) years of lifetime service credits by the last day of the preceding month
- is a state employee who retired from state employment before June 1, 2005 and who returned to state employment before September 1, 2005. In this instance, the monthly longevity pay amount will equal the amount of longevity pay the employee was entitled to receive immediately before September 1, 2005.
Employees who are ineligible to receive longevity pay include:
- part-time and temporary employees
- faculty employees
- commissioned law enforcement personnel
- A state employee who retired from state employment before June 1, 2005, and who returns to state employment on or after September 1, 2005, is not entitled to receive longevity pay.
Eligibility - Eligible employees accrue lifetime service credits for the period that the person:
- serves as a full-time or part-time State of Texas employee
- serves as a temporary State of Texas employee
- serves as a student employee at an institution of higher education
- serves as a member of the Texas Legislature
- holds a statewide office that is normally filled by vote of the people
- serves as an academic employee of a State of Texas institution of higher education; or
- ·otherwise serves as an employee of the State of Texas
- any UTT employee returning to employment following service in the military is entitled to credit for longevity pay purposes for the time spent in the military. Years of service as a National Guard technician prior to January 1, 1969, are included in the computation of lifetime service credits for purposes of longevity pay.
Schedule – Longevity pay shall be calculated based on (2) two-year service increments in accordance with the following schedule:
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Years of State Service
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Monthly Longevity Pay
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Less than 2 years
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$0
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2
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$20
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4
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$40
|
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6
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$60
|
|
8
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$80
|
|
10
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$100
|
|
12
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$120
|
|
14
|
$140
|
|
16
|
$160
|
|
18
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$180
|
|
20
|
$200
|
|
22
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$220
|
|
24
|
$240
|
|
26
|
$260
|
|
28
|
$280
|
|
30
|
$300
|
|
32
|
$320
|
|
34
|
$340
|
|
36
|
$360
|
|
38
|
$380
|
|
40
|
$400
|
|
42 or more years
|
$420
|
Payment - After completion of two (2) years' service, longevity pay commences on the first day of the next month at the specified rate and continues at that rate until the completion of another two (2) year increment.
Longevity pay shall not be prorated. A change in status occurring during the month will be effective the first of the following month. For example, an employee appointed on September 1 of a given year completes two (2) years of service on August 31 two years later. The longevity payment will commence on the first day of the next month, September 1. Accordingly, an employee appointed on September 2 of a given year will complete two (2) years of service on September 1 two (2) years later. The pay will commence on the first day of the next month, October 1.
An employee may not receive from the state as longevity pay more than the scheduled amount, regardless of the number of positions the employee holds or the number of hours the employee works each week.
Transfer - An institution or agency employing an individual on the first day of the month will be responsible for verifying and calculating longevity pay.
Method of Payment –
- Longevity pay is considered a part of total compensation although the base salary rate of an employee is not affected by such payment.
- Separate lump sum payment for the longevity pay is not authorized--such payment is included as part of regular payroll procedure.
- The inclusion of longevity pay as part of total compensation affects federal withholding, OASI, the amount of group insurance and other benefit calculations, rate of overtime pay, if any, and retirement contributions.
- Longevity pay shall not be considered in making calculations for lump-sum payment of vacation upon termination. It shall, however, be considered in making calculation for lump-sum payments of vacation and sick leave to the estate of a deceased employee.
On-Call Pay - A non-exempt employee who is on-call, required to remain near an available telephone or carry a pager for immediate contact and recall to UTT within one (1) hour, shall receive "On-Call Pay" of $2.00 per hour. A non-exempt employee called out to work or required to work remotely while on-call will be paid for the time spent at the work place with a guaranteed minimum of two (2) hours of pay.
If a non-exempt employee only receives the guaranteed minimum hours while in work status, the payment will be as follows:
- A non-exempt employee in a patient care area shall receive a differential of 50% of base rate.
- A non-exempt employee in a non-patient care area and does not qualify for call-back differential shall receive the $2.00 per hour on-call pay plus their base rate; and
- The call back guaranteed minimum does not count toward overtime.
An exempt employee is not eligible to receive on-call pay.
Payment of On-Call Pay - On-Call Forms must be submitted in advance of the on-call schedule by the employee or the supervisor on behalf of the employee to Time & Attendance for the employee to receive any call back pay. Refer to the Monthly Payroll Processing Calendar for due dates since these dates may vary each month. If an employee clocks in fifteen (15) minutes before their scheduled shift or works past scheduled shift, the timekeeper will manually adjust the on-call start and stop time to reflect the correct hours.
Call-Back Pay – A non-exempt employee in patient care departments including Plant Operations, Police Pharmacy, Pulmonary Services, Sleep Lab, Cardiology Services, Rehabilitation Services, Pathology, Radiology, Emergency Services, Surgery, and Nursing, required to be on-call and return to UTT, shall receive call back differential paid at a rate of 50% of the employee's base pay for the time physically working at UTT. Employees receiving call-back differential shall not receive shift differential or on-call pay while in a work status.
Overtime and Straight Time - Eligible employees may be required to work overtime. For overtime eligibility consideration, classified employees shall be designated as "non-exempt" as defined by Fair Labor Standards Act.
Overtime will be paid at time and one-half the employee's regular rate of pay. Overtime must be approved in advance by the department head/supervisor. Should an employee work unauthorized overtime, he/she will be paid, but may also receive disciplinary counseling for working unauthorized hours.
Overtime is computed on time worked in fifteen (15) minute increments without rounding, excluding all non-productive hours, i.e., call back guaranteed minimum, paid sick leave, vacation, state/federal holiday, jury duty, funeral leave, or administrative leave hours.
The "over-forty" method will be used for the computation of overtime. The over-forty method is defined as hours physically worked over forty (40) hours in a workweek. If employee hours recorded are 'over forty' and any non-productive hours are used to make up those hours, then it will be paid as straight time overtime, calculated at one times regular rate of pay. A workweek refers to a seven (7) day work period for shifts beginning at 12:01 a.m. or after on Sunday ending Saturday at 11:59 p.m.
The schedule of activities should be organized such that employees are not required to work in excess of established work periods except when operating necessities demand. However, if overtime/straight time is required, refusal to work the overtime/straight time as directed may result in counseling or disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Payment of Overtime – Overtime payment will be included with the employee's bi-weekly paycheck. Unclassified and classified exempt employees are not subject to overtime entitlements.
Time Change - Employees working the night shift when the time changes due to daylight savings time will receive pay for their scheduled time (example: eight hours even though the employee may have actually worked seven hours due to the time change).
Employees working the night shift at the end of daylight savings time will receive pay for their scheduled time (example: eight hours even though the employee may have actually worked nine hours due to the time change).
E. References
Texas Gov. Code, Section 659.043
Texas Gov. Code, Section 659.042
Texas Gov. Code, Section 659.044
Texas Gov. Code, Section 659.046 (f)
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, Article d-1
Attorney General's Opinions Nos. M-250, M-886, H-941, MW-100, MW 282, MW-334 and JM-407
Texas Government Code, §§659.041-659.046
Fair Labor Standards Act
Texas Gov. Code, Section 659.016, 659.018, 659,022, 659,023
Approved: 02/2022