Payment of salary

The purpose of this Policy is to set forth University policy and procedures regarding payment for services rendered by University employees.

Salary payment is made bi-weekly. Paydays usually are bi-weekly on every other Friday. Each payday includes earnings through the preceding Sunday.

Overtime payment, which is included with the non-exempt employee’s base salary payment, is also paid bi-weekly with these payment covering hours worked in the prior bi-weekly period. (For additional explanations see section on Overtime Policy.)

It is the University’s policy that employee paychecks will only be given personally to that employee. All other arrangements for mailing or pick-up must be made in advance and in writing with Employee Services.

Under no circumstances will the University release any paychecks prior to the announced schedule.

Employees may be paid by check or through direct deposit of funds to either a savings or checking account at their bank of choice (providing the bank has direct deposit capability). To activate direct deposit, an employee must complete and sign a Direct Deposit Agreement available online or in Employee Services. The completed form must then be returned with bank documentation verifying transit account numbers (such as a voided check) to Employee Services.

In the event of a lost or stolen paycheck, Employee Services must be notified in writing as soon as possible before a replacement check can be issued. Employee Services will issue a stop payment on the lost or stolen check. After the financial institution has notified Employee Services that payment of the check has been stopped, Employee Services will issue a new check as soon as practicable. In the event the lost paycheck is recovered and the University identifies the endorsement as that of the employee, the employee must remit the amount of the replacement check to the University within 24 hours of the time it is demanded.

A statement of earnings is available online each pay period to employees indicating:

• Gross Pay;
• Statutory Deductions;
• Voluntary Deductions.

The amount of Federal withholding is affected by the number of exemptions claimed on Form W- 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. If an employee’s marital status changes or the number of exemptions previously claimed increases or decreases, a new Form W-4 must be submitted to Employee Services.

Except for extreme emergencies, no salary advances will be made. The decision to grant salary advances is at the university’s sole discretion and must be approved by Employee Services and the Vice President for Business and Finance.

In the event of an error in payment, employees should contact their supervisor and/or Employee Services as soon as possible. Supervisors will then contact Employee Services and send the necessary paperwork to correct the matter.

Exempt Employee - employees who primarily perform work exempt from or not subject to the overtime provisions of the FLSA and for who overtime pay is not required by federal law.

Non-Exempt Employee - employees who primarily perform work subject to overtime provisions of the FLSA and for whom overtime pay is required by federal law.

I. Garnishment of Wages

Garnishments are court ordered deductions from wages for monies owed to a company, government or individual, for example, monies owed in child support, unpaid student loans, bankruptcy collection, unpaid taxes and/or other debt. The University is obligated by federal and state law to garnish wages from employees’ paychecks upon the receipt of garnishment orders.

Garnishments remain active until Employee Services receives a release, an amendment of these federal and state garnishment orders or a letter of satisfaction. Lynn University does not refund any incorrectly deducted funds due to the errors in the requisite garnishment orders. Instead, employees must request refunds and address the errors with the issuer of a garnishment order authorizing the deduction.

II. Pay Deductions for Exempt Employees

Executive and professional employees of the University are classified as exempt and are not legally entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of forty (40) in a workweek. As a general rule, exempt employees are paid a pre-determined salary for any workweek in which they perform work, regardless of the quality of their performance, or the number of hours worked during that workweek. However, an employee need not be paid for any workweek in which s/he performs no work.

This policy sets forth the circumstances when deductions can be made from an exempt employee’s salary (in addition to tax withholdings, social security, Medicare, insurance contributions and other deductions authorized by the employee). Employees are to regularly check their pay stubs and are encouraged to immediately report any mistakes to Employee Services.

A. Permissible Deductions

Federal wage-hour regulations may permit limited deductions from an exempt employee’s salary including:

1. The University may deduct from an exempt employee’s weekly salary for any full-day that the employee is absent from work for personal reasons, other than sickness or disability. If an exempt employee is absent for personal reasons, and uses an available paid personal or vacation day, the employee will be paid for that day. If, however, an exempt employee takes a personal day after having exhausted their entitlement to personal and vacation days, the University may deduct from the exempt employee’s salary a full day of pay for each full-day absence.

2. The University may deduct from an exempt employee’s weekly salary for any full day that the employee is absent from work for sickness or disability if the deduction is made in accordance with the University’s sick leave policy, short-term or long-term disability plan, or applicable state disability insurance or workers’ compensation law, or pursuant to the University’s practice of providing compensation for loss of salary occasioned by sickness or disability. Deductions for such full day absences also may be made for absences due to sickness or disability occurring before the employee has qualified for benefits under the applicable plan or policy and after s/he has exhausted the leave allowance under the plan or policy. The University is not required to pay any portion of the employee’s salary for full day absences for which the employee receives compensation under the plan, policy, or practice. An exempt employee who needs to miss work due to sickness or personal disability should speak with a member of Employee Services regarding possible entitlement to the continuation of a portion of salary through the University’s disability insurance policies.

3. The University may suspend an employee without pay, for any amount of time, without affecting the employee’s exempt status, for a violation of safety rules of major significance to the University. Such a violation would include a safety or health standard directly applicable to the University’s business, or the violation of which would or could result in a serious citation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

4. The University may suspend an exempt employee from work without pay for one or more full days for serious workplace misconduct in violation of the University’s workplace conduct rules, including, but not limited to, violations of the University’s Discrimination and Harassment, Sexual and Gender-based Misconduct, Workplace Violence, and Drug and Alcohol policies.

5. The University is not required to pay the full salary of an exempt employee during the initial or terminal weeks of employment if that employee does not work for the entirety of those weeks. The University will pro-rate the employee’s salary, during these weeks, in proportion to the days (or time) worked.

6. The University may deduct from an exempt employee’s weekly salary for time that the employee takes as unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (whether it is a full-time leave, or intermittent leave or reduced-schedule leave). For example, if an employee who usually works 40 hours per week takes 4 hours in intermittent-leave time, the University may reduce the weekly salary for that week by 10%. Employees should review the University’s Family and Medical Leave Act Policy for further information about such leaves of absence.

B. Impermissible Deductions

The following deductions from the salary of exempt employees are not permitted by federal law:

• Partial day absences (except FMLA leave);

• Deductions for variations in the quantity or quality of work;

• Absences related to business trips;

• Deductions for absences created or caused by the employer or by the operating requirements of the University (for example, when the employee is ready, willing and able to work, but work is not available).

C. Complaint Procedure

If you have questions about deductions made from your earnings, please contact Employee Services.

If you believe that deductions have been made improperly or in error, please inform Employee Services. The University will promptly investigate any such matter to determine whether there has been an error. It is the obligation of all employees to cooperate in such an investigation, any improper or mistaken salary deduction will be remedied promptly.

The University will not allow any form of retaliation against individuals who report alleged violations of this policy or who cooperate in the University’s investigation of such reports. Retaliation is unacceptable. Any form of retaliation in violation of this policy will result in corrective action, up to and including discharge.

III. Final Wage Payment

Employees will receive their final paycheck on the next regularly scheduled pay date. At the time of termination, employee benefits are directly impacted. All accrued, vested benefits that are due and payable at termination, such as vacation, will be included in the final paycheck. Some benefits, such as health plan coverage, may be continued at the individual’s expense via COBRA. Employees will be notified in writing regarding the terms, conditions and limitations of continued health plan coverage.

To learn more about this policy or the supporting procedures, please contact Employee Services