Compensatory Time (Comp Time) Policy

EHRA and SHRA Exempt Employees

Employees (whether EHRA or SHRA) whose duties and responsibilities have been determined by Human Resources to be “exempt” from the provisions of the  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are considered to be “exempt” employees.  Exempt employees do not earn comp time for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.  Exempt employees do not have to clock in and out in WolfTime.

EHRA and SHRA Non-Exempt Employees

Employees whose duties and responsibilities determined by Human Resources to be  “subject” to the provisions of FLSA are considered “subject” or “non-exempt” employees. These employees must track their work time by clocking in and out each day.  Non-exempt employees are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and accrue leave at time and one half for each hour worked over 40 in a workweek.  Overtime is not a “right” and should only be worked with management approval due to the business needs of a department.

Various Types of Comp Time

In WolfTime, comp time is tracked in separate buckets.  Here are the comp time buckets and this is also the order hours are taken from when entering a leave action such as annual leave (reminder that comp time must be used before annual or bonus leave):
  • Conversion Comp– This is any comp time earned prior to 7/1/17 that carried over from the old system.
  • Adverse Weather Comp– Mandatory employees who work during adverse weather earn hour for hour adverse weather comp time.  It can never be paid out and must be used within 12 months of earning it or it forfeits.
  • Holiday Comp– This is comp time earned when an employee works on a university holiday.  It is earned hour for hour.
  • Overtime Comp– This is earned when an employee works over 40 hours in a work week and is earned at a multiple of 1.5 times.   (ex. 3 hours of overtime would earn 4.5 hours of overtime comp.
  • Gap Hours Comp– This is earned hour for hour for employees who work less than 40 hours per week.  If they work over their standard work hours in a work week, they earn gap hours.  (ex. 30 hours a week is standard work week.  An employee who works 32 hours in that week, would receive 2 hours of gap hours comp).

Comp Time Payouts

Other than Adverse Weather Comp, all other comp time must be paid out if not used within one year.  Each occasion when comp time is earned, WolfTime date stamps that action.  If an employee never took any leave time, and once the comp time ages out at one year, those hours are paid out in the next payroll.

Comp time earned is tracked in separate “buckets” in WolfTime.  When any one of the comp time buckets exceed 240 hours, those hours over 240 are paid out in the next available payroll.  Also, if an employee ends employment with NC State, only payable comp time buckets are paid out.

Entering Comp Time

Comp time hours are automatically loaded into the WolfTime system based on the clock in/clock out punches each day and once the time is approved by the manager and processed in the weekly WolfTime run.  Comp time begins to accrue once an employee reaches 40 hours during the work week.

Adverse weather comp and holiday comp hours are manually entered by the HR Benefits/Leave Administration Team.

Banking of Comp Time

The default for WolfTime is that all comp time is banked and not paid out.  However, some units have chosen to pay out all comp time so that it does not bank.

Comp time is available for employees to use in lieu of bonus or vacation time.  If a department that banks comp time determines that comp time should be paid out, the Leave Coordinator must do a Comp On Demand process to have it paid out.