CYCLIC EMPLOYEE PAYROLL PROCEDURES

 

Cyclic employees are those classified personnel who work less than 12 months per year (usually at least nine months, up to eleven and a half months). The Human Resource office issues Employee Notices detailing each employee’s cyclic calendar. The "no work days" (which includes winter and Spring breaks) are the specific days listed that the employee is not scheduled to work during the calendar. The employee or supervisor should contact Human Resources as soon as possible if there is a question concerning the dates listed, so that any corrections can be forwarded to Payroll. These documents are also used by the Payroll department because cyclic employees require special handling in some instances.

LESS THAN 100%

Some cyclic employees also work less than 100% in a week, (less than 40 hours per week). If so, the following procedures for holidays, work week schedules, and accruals need to be prorated according to work load percentage.

HOLIDAYS

Per WAC 251-22-040, cyclic employees scheduled to work less than full monthly schedules throughout their calendar work year qualify for holiday compensation if they work or are in pay status on their last regularly scheduled working day preceding a holiday in that same month. Example: If employee is in paid status on 12/17/04, which is last working day before Christmas break (12/20/04-1/1/05), then employee will be paid for Christmas holiday. In 2004 the New Year’s holiday (which was on 12/31/04) was also a paid holiday. Normally New Year’s would fall in January and therefore would not be a paid holiday.

Holidays are compensated at one-fifth of the total hours per week. For example, a 75% employee will be paid six hours for a holiday (eight hours x 75%), even if their normal work schedule is four days at seven and a half hours per day (total of 30 hours per week). In this situation an "Assigned Work Schedule" form must be turned in, indicating the deviation from the normal schedule, to change hours worked the remainder of the week to adjust for the holiday hours. The total hours for the week including the holiday must still equal 30 hours. Example: Old (Regular) Schedule = M-Tu-W-Th, 8:00-4:00, 7.5 hr/day, 30-hr/wk. New (Holiday Week Only) Schedule = M (Holiday) 6.0 hr; Tu/W/Th, 8:00-4:30, 8.0 hr; total 30-hr/wk.

The employee will be paid for the holiday unless the Supervisor notifies the Payroll Office that the employee was not in a paid status on the last working day before the cyclic break begins.

LWC VS. LWO

Cyclic employees must report "no work days" during their scheduled cyclic calendar on leave forms. If employee has completed probation, vacation may be used (if available) and/or leave without pay (LWC). The appropriate leave code for leave without pay during this time is LWC, which does not affect a cyclic employee’s seniority date or periodic increment date. Sick leave cannot be used during "no work days". Requests for leave without pay for absences during regular cyclic calendar workdays must be approved in advance by both the employee’s supervisor and the Human Resource office. The correct leave code in this situation is LWO, not LWC. During regular cyclic calendar use LWO; during "No Work Days" use LWC.

ACCRUALS

Vacation and Sick Leave is not accrued in any month in which unpaid leave (LWC-Leave without pay-cyclic or LWO-Leave without pay) exceeds 10 working days in a month. Example: if the employee’s "no work days" in June are the 13th through the 30th, totaling 14, leave will not be accrued for that month. The employee may use four days of vacation leave, reducing unpaid days to 10, resulting in a normal accrual. Vacation leave may not be used prior to first work day of the employees cyclic calendar in the fall, so if days not worked in the month before returning exceed 10, there will be no accrual. If the employee work schedule is extended during cyclic summer break, accrual is granted based on a prorated amount of percentage of hours worked in relation to a normal calendar work week.

 

CYCLIC EMPLOYEE PAYROLL PROCEDURES

CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES WORKING OUTSIDE OF THEIR CYCLIC CALENDAR

A. Working an Extension of their Cyclic Classified Position:
    1. Employee will be paid on the semi-monthly payroll (pay date is closest working day to 10th & 25th.
    2. Employee will complete a classified timesheet.
    3. Employee will be paid using the hourly rate on the DOP salary schedule.
    4. Supervisor will notify HRO & the Payroll office

The employee’s supervisor is responsible for determining the appropriate use of leave during the extension according to whether the time off was during the scheduled working time for that particular day or a "no work day". Sick leave cannot be used during "no work days". Vacation leave may not be used at any time during a cyclic extension.

B. Working in a part time hourly position:
    1. Employee will be paid on the monthly payroll (pay date is closest working day to the 15th of the month).
    2. Employee will complete an hourly timesheet (either the Automated Time and Attendance System or manual timesheet).
    3. Employee will be paid using the hourly rate on the Part Time Hourly Rate Schedule.
    4. Supervisor will notify HRO and the Payroll office

The Part time hourly position may not overlap the classified cyclic calendar. Using one example - the cyclic calendar ends 6/30/04.  During the "no-work days" of 6/14-6/30/04, the employee may use vacation leave or may use Leave without Pay Cyclic (LWC) but may NOT also work in a part time hourly position.

  1. Medical/dental benefits will continue during the employee’s cyclic time off and a balloon deduction will be taken from their 6/25 paycheck to cover the employee’s cost of benefits during the cyclic time off.  This procedure is not impacted by the employee’s decision to work in an hourly position.  For retirement contribution purposes, however, all hours worked, including the hours worked in the part-time hourly position will be subject to retirement contributions. 

  2. Retirement and Insurance benefit eligibility will be determined by the person – not by the position in these situations.  A part-time hourly position previously determined to be an "Ineligible" position based on job description and work hours required for fulfilling those duties, will not be converted to an "Eligible" position based on the benefit eligibility of the cyclic employee.  When the cyclic employee returns to their cyclic appointment and the part-time hourly position is filled with an "Hourly" employee, the position reverts to the original determination of "Ineligible".  The supervisor should document the situation in the employee’s file and be able to provide this documentation in case of audit.

  3. Cyclic employees working outside their cyclic calendar may work in both an Extended Cyclic Classified Position and in a Part-time Hourly position. This will require extra diligence for supervisors to guarantee that employees follow the procedures and pay rates appropriate to the position in which they are working and check for overlapping time.

  4. Both Annual Leave and Sick Leave will be accrued on the part-time hourly position.  The leave accrual will be based on the percent of full-time worked in the hourly position and will be posted to leave accounts at the end of summer quarter.