3C-01 Total Rewards: Compensation & Hours of Work for Employees of the College

Policy: 6Hx28:3C-01

Responsible Executive: Executive Vice President, Administrative Services

Policy Contacts: Chief Human Resources Officer

Specific Authority: 1001.64, F.S.

Law Implemented: 1001.64, F.S.

Effective Date: 12-04-2025

Date of Last Policy Review: 12-04-2025

Policy:

Policy Statement:

In order to attract, motivate, develop, and retain employees who contribute to student success, the college will establish conditions of employment and components of pay that are designed to recognize, reward, and compensate its employees. Valencia College (“College”) adheres to all federal and state laws, rules and regulations governing reporting of positions, classifications and job descriptions, College funding, hours of work, and overtime payments. The College President, or designee(s), may establish programs and procedures to implement this policy.

1. All full-time employees will be on duty for at least forty (40) hours per week. Five (5) days per week will constitute the normal work week unless otherwise approved by the College President or a designee.
2. The College shall comply with all the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its regulations. Employees who are assigned to positions which are classified as exempt from earning overtime under the FLSA will receive pay on a salary basis. Salaries of employees, exempt from earning overtime under the FLSA, are intended to cover all hours worked during the pay period. The College will not make deductions from salary that violate the FLSA or reduce wages to less than minimum wage unless otherwise permissible by federal and/or state rules and regulations.
3. The District Board of Trustees is authorized to include salary additive payments in the employment contracts of eligible employees. Salary additive payments, to the extent required or permitted by law, rule, or regulation, may be construed as additional wages for the purposes of federal income taxes, social security, and retirement contributions.
4. The College President or designee(s) may adopt procedures to implement this policy.

Policy History:

Adopted 12-11-74; Amended 12-15-82; Amended 11-18-92; Amended 11-2-16; Amended 12-5-24; Amended 12-4-25; Formerly 6Hx28:2-04; Formerly 6Hx28:2-05; Formerly 6Hx28:07-42

Related Policies:

College Policy 6Hx28: 2-02 Workplace Accommodations for Applicants and Employees
College Policy 6Hx28: 3A-05 Substitute Instructors and Short-Term Instructors of Record for Academic Credit Courses
College Policy 6Hx28: 3C-01.2 Faculty Workload
College Policy 6Hx28: 3D-03 Total Rewards: Vacation, Sick and Personal Leave for Full Time Employees
College Policy 6Hx28: 3D-14 Paid Time Off for Part-Time Faculty Teaching Academic Credit Programs
College Policy 6Hx28: 3F-02 Terminal Pay for Full Time Employees
Combines/repeals: 6Hx28:3A-03; 3A-01; 3C-04.1; 3C-05; 3D-01; 3A-02.4; 3A-02.2; 3C-01.1; 03C-02.1, 3C-02.2, 3C-02.3, 3C-02.4, 3C-02.5

Procedures:

1. General Provisions for Employees:
   1. Job descriptions: All full-time positions shall have job descriptions that include a general description of the role, essential job functions, and knowledge, skills, and ability requirements. These job descriptions are available to all employees and may be amended as needed.
      1. The College President or designee may assign employees to temporary assignments which require them to be absent from their regular duties. Temporary assignments are for the purpose of performing other educational services including, and not limited to: participation in employee and program development activities, educational surveys, professional meetings, councils, committees, workshops, and administrative projects. Employees may not be assigned temporary duty for the purpose of earning college credit. Employees on temporary duty will receive their regular salary and benefits as may be applicable.
   2. Salary Schedule: All employees will be paid in accordance with the appropriate salary schedule and provisions adopted therein. Exceptions may be approved by the College President, or designee(s).
   3. Transfer from Grant-Funded Position to a College-Funded Position: A grant-funded employee who is transferred from a grant-funded position to a college-funded position will receive a salary paid in accordance with the appropriate salary schedule and provisions adopted therein.
   4. Emergency Duty Pay: The College President or designee(s) will establish procedures and the duration for such at the time of an emergency and name employees who are essential to address the emergency situation.
   5. Employment Incentives: The College President or designee(s) is authorized to provide incentives for employment, recruitment, and retention purposes or for other purposes as may be deemed necessary to reward and recognize employees. To the extent required or permitted by law, rule or regulation, employment incentives may be construed as additional wages for the purposes of federal income taxes, social security, and retirement contributions.
   6. Holidays and Paid Non-Duty Days:
      1. Twelve-month, full-time employees will observe holidays and other paid non-duty days on the days approved by the District Board of Trustees. However, the College President, or designee(s), is authorized to modify the holiday schedule by providing an equivalent number of days to be observed at other times during the year.
      2. A twelve-month, full-time employee must have worked or have been on approved leave with pay for the full workday before and, except for retiring employees, the full workday after the holiday(s) or paid non-duty day(s), in order to be compensated. Non-exempt staff should refer to Procedures Section II.B (Guidelines for Staff Employees Who Are Non-Exempt) for the proper procedure to document hours of work for the holiday(s).
2. Guidelines for Non-Instructional Employees Classified as Executives, Senior Administrators, Administrators, and Staff
   1. Classification of Positions: All College-budgeted, non-instructional positions are classified and assigned to a pay grade in accordance with the approved salary schedule. Positions are also classified as either non-exempt or exempt from overtime reporting in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
      1. Staff employees classified as non-exempt:
         1. Staff employees who are classified as non-exempt are required to report all hours of work. For more information, see Procedures Section II.B. (Guidelines for Staff Employees Who Are Non-Exempt)
         2. Staff employees who are classified as non-exempt will be considered full-time if filling positions that are required to work a minimum of 228 days per year and a minimum of 40 hours per week during the fiscal year, unless otherwise approved by the President or designee.
         3. Employees not filling positions as defined above in Procedures Section II. A. 1. b. will be classified as part-time employees. Part-time employees paid on an hourly basis are classified as non-exempt and eligible to earn overtime in accordance with the FLSA.
      2. Executives, senior administrators, administrators, and staff employees who are classified as exempt:
         1. Executives, senior administrators, and administrators who are classified as exempt will be considered full-time if filling positions that are required to work a minimum of 228 days per year during the normal contractual period, unless otherwise approved by the College President or designee.
         2. Staff employees who are classified as exempt will be considered full-time if filling positions that are required to work a minimum of 228 days per year during the fiscal year, unless otherwise approved by the College President or designee.
   2. Guidelines for staff employees who are classified as non-exempt:

      These procedures provide guidance for staff employees and their supervisors when reporting their hours of work. The College requires all supervisors and staff employees to adhere to these procedures for the college to maintain compliance with the FLSA.

      1. Hours of work
         1. Within these parameters, departments are responsible for establishing specific hours of work and may adjust schedules as deemed necessary based upon operational needs.
         2. A workday shall constitute eight (8) duty hours and a workweek shall constitute forty (40) hours for full-time, staff employees who are classified as non-exempt unless otherwise approved by the president or designee(s).
         3. The College workweek shall begin at 12:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) Sunday and continue for seven (7) consecutive days (168 hours).
         4. Staff employees may take one paid fifteen (15) minute rest break during the first half of the work shift and one paid fifteen (15) minute rest break during the second half of the work shift except in emergencies. An employee may not accumulate unused rest breaks or combine them with lunch breaks. Breaks are based upon supervisor or department discretion and operational needs.
         5. A staff employee who is classified as non-exempt may not begin work more than seven and one-half (7½) minutes before scheduled working hours or depart later than seven and one-half (7½) minutes after scheduled working hours without permission from their supervisor.
      2. Recording of hours worked
         1. Staff employees, who are classified as non-exempt under the FLSA, are required to record and verify the hours they work in a manner prescribed by the College.
         2. The time that an employee starts, stops, or interrupts work (e.g., lunch time when an employee is relieved from duty) will be recorded. Starting and stopping times will be rounded and recorded to the nearest one-quarter (¼) of an hour. Authorized fifteen (15) minute rest breaks do not need to be recorded.
         3. Banked holiday hours are earned if a full-time, non-exempt employee works more than the required number of hours during a week that includes a College observed holiday and cannot record the full number of hours granted for that holiday. If a full-time, non-exempt employee works more than the required number of hours in a week that contains a College observed holiday, the employee must reduce the number of holiday hour(s) recorded on their timesheet equal to the number of hour(s) worked over what was required for the week. Payroll Services will record those excess hours as “Banked Holiday” in the Request and Manage My Leave System. When the full-time, non-exempt employee wants to utilize eligible “Banked Holiday” hour(s) at a later date, the non-exempt employee shall submit a Certificate of Absence (COA) with “Banked Holiday” as the reason and the applicable number of hour(s) in the Request and Manage My Leave System for supervisor review and approval; and will record the applicable “Banked Holiday” hour(s) on their timesheet.
      3. Approving time and attendance records
         1. Designated web-time-entry approvers must verify that the information recorded, accurately represents the employee’s time and attendance including hours worked, applicable leave, and holiday time for the covered period in accordance with established procedures. Note: Appropriate Certificate(s) of Absence and web time entry documented leave must match for the covered pay period.
            1. Full-Time Non-Exempt Employees: See College Policy 6Hx28: 3D-03 Total Rewards: Vacation, Sick and Personal Leave for Full Time Employees for information on full-time employees utilizing applicable leaves.
            2. Part-Time Employees: Part-time employees do not accrue vacation or sick leave. After three (3) consecutive scheduled work day absences or five (5) scheduled work day absences in a thirty (30) calendar-day period, the supervisor or designee, after consultation with Organizational Development and Human Resources (ODHR) Leave & Access Services, may require a part-time employee to furnish a medical certificate signed by a qualified health care provider that certifies the absence is due to a medical reason. This documentation shall be obtained by the employee at their own expense and should be sent by the employee to ODHR Leave & Access Services for review and evaluation. At the conclusion of the absence, the employee must be able to perform all their essential job functions, with or without a reasonable accommodation(s). It is the responsibility of the employee to notify ODHR Leave & Access Services should they need to request a reasonable accommodation(s) as outlined in College Policy 6Hx28: 2-02 Workplace Accommodations for Applicants and Employees.
            3. For the death of a part-time employee’s close family member or member of the employee’s household, the department may require that the employee furnish supporting documentation that substantiates the reason for the absence.
         2. Designation as an approver for full-time employee web-time-entry records will be based on the reporting hierarchy defined in the position control records maintained by ODHR and documentation of supervisory responsibility in the approver’s official/approved job description.
         3. Designation as an approver for part-time employee web-time-entry records will be based on the supervisory relationship and documentation of supervisory responsibility in the approver’s official/approved job description.
         4. Changes to the reporting hierarchy defined in the position control records will require approval by the appropriate Sr. Staff member and be subject to documentation of supervisory responsibility in the official/approved job description.
      4. Overtime compensation
         1. At times, it will be necessary to require staff employees to work overtime. Overtime must be approved in advance by the appropriate vice president, provost, or designee(s).
         2. Staff employees will receive overtime compensation at the rate of one and one-half (1½) times the regular hourly rate of pay for each hour actually worked in excess of forty (40) hours during the workweek.
         3. Staff employees must document on their timesheets the actual hours worked in accordance with established procedures.
         4. Supervisors must verify that the overtime work was performed and that the hours actually worked were properly documented in accordance with established procedures.
         5. Overtime compensation will only be paid if the hours actually worked exceed 40 hours in the workweek. Paid non-duty hours, sick leave, vacation leave, or other paid or unpaid leaves will not be considered when calculating hours worked for overtime purposes.
   3. Guidelines for executives, senior administrators, administrators, and staff employees who are classified as exempt:
      1. Special events, hours of work over forty (40) in the work week, and additional part-time instructional employment
         1. Executives, senior administrators, administrative, and staff employees, classified as exempt from earning overtime under the FLSA, will not receive additional compensation for performing services related to their primary employment at special events. Such special events may include, but are not limited to, commencement, councils, committees, and community events.
         2. At times, executives, senior administrators, administrators, and staff employees, classified as exempt from earning overtime under the FLSA, will perform duties as assigned without additional compensation, and such duties include work performed outside normal work hours established by departments based upon operational needs and beyond forty hours in a work week. When possible, to accommodate the need for work performed outside normal work hours, supervisors are encouraged, but not required, to use flexible work schedules.
         3. Full-time executives, senior administrators, administrators, and exempt staff employees approved to teach part-time are responsible for continuing to meet the responsibilities associated with their primary job assignment. For more information, see Procedures Section I. E. of College Policy 6Hx28: 3C-01.2 Faculty Workload.
      2. Deductions from salary of executives, senior administrators, administrators, and staff employees classified as exempt:
         1. Partial day or full day deductions from pay are permissible under certain circumstances including, but not limited to, the following:
            1. For absences from work when an employee has exhausted personal, vacation, or sick leave
            2. In the employee’s initial or terminal week of employment if the employee does not work the full week
            3. For time in which an exempt employee takes unpaid leave
            4. For overpayment of wages
            5. To recover unauthorized payments
            6. For repayment of obligations incurred by the employee relating to their employment at the College
      3. Administrative Incentive Credit Days for Executive and Senior Administrator employees
         1. Executive and Senior Administrator employees are eligible for administrative incentive credit days. These incentive credit days accumulate each fiscal year, are prorated for each month, and have a maximum accrual as follows:

         Position Career Band	Incentive Credit Days per Year	Maximum Accrual
         Executive/Senior Administrator I, II, III	Up to 3 days	15 days
         Executive/Senior Administrator IV and V	Up to 7 days	35 days

         2. Executive and Senior Administrator I, II, and III employees who transfer to an Executive or Senior Administrator IV or V level position will be eligible for the new incentive credit days of up to seven (7) days per year and maximum accrual of thirty-five (35) incentive credit days for the new position category (Executive or Senior Administrator IV or V level, as appropriate).
         3. Executive and Senior Administrator IV and V employees who transfer to an Executive or Senior Administrator I, II, or III level position will be eligible for the new incentive credit days of up to three (3) days per year and maximum accrual of fifteen (15) incentive credit days for the new position category (Executive or Senior Administrator I, II, or III level, as appropriate).
            1. If the eligible employee has more than the new position maximum accrual of fifteen (15) incentive credit days, the employee will no longer be eligible to earn additional incentive credit days per year unless the employee transfers back to an Executive/Senior Administrator IV or V position where they will again become eligible to accrue up to seven (7) days per year and maximum accrual of thirty-five (35) incentive credit days. As of the date of transfer into the new Executive/Senior Administrator IV or V position, if the eligible employee has reached the maximum accrual of thirty-five (35) incentive credit days, then the employee is not eligible to earn any additional incentive credit days.
         4. Executive and Senior Administrator employees who transfer to a different position that is ineligible for administrative incentive credit accruals will be paid (as of the date of transfer into the ineligible position) for any accrued incentive credit day(s) as applicable and in accordance with College Policy 6Hx28: 3F-02 Terminal Pay for Full Time Employees.
         5. Executive and Senior Administrators I, II, III, IV, and V who separate employment shall be paid in accordance with the terminal pay guidelines on incentive credit days as outlined in College Policy 6Hx28: 3F-02 Terminal Pay for Full Time Employees.
3. Guidelines for Faculty
   1. Full-time instructional faculty include, but are not limited to, teaching faculty in positions classified as Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor, Faculty Chair, Faculty Program Director, Clinical Coordinator, Clinical Nurse Educator, and faculty in temporary positions as defined by the College. Full-time faculty also include full-time librarians and counselors. Full-time faculty are exempt from earning overtime under the FLSA.
      1. Full-time instructional faculty fill positions requiring they work a minimum of the number of work days in the academic session(s) during the normal contractual period unless otherwise approved by the District Board of Trustees.
      2. Part-time instructional faculty teaching credit courses based on the number of work days in the academic session are exempt from earning overtime.
      3. Part-time instructional faculty teaching non-credit courses, part-time librarians, and part-time counselors are classified as non-exempt, are paid on an hourly basis, and are eligible to earn overtime in accordance with the FLSA.
   2. Special Events and Hours of Work over 40 in the Work Week
      1. Full-time faculty shall not receive additional compensation for performing services related to their primary employment at special events. Such special events may include, but are not limited to, commencement, councils, committees, and community events.
      2. At times, full-time faculty will perform duties as assigned without additional compensation, and such duties include work performed outside normal work hours and beyond forty hours in a work week. When possible, to accommodate the need for work performed outside normal work hours, supervisors are encouraged, but not required, to use flexible work schedules.
   3. Work Absences for Faculty
      1. Instructional faculty who must miss class due to illness or other reasons shall notify their immediate supervisor as far in advance as possible so adequate provisions can be made for the class. See College Policy 6Hx28: 3A-05 Substitute Instructors and Short-Term Instructors of Record for Academic Credit Courses for more information.
         1. Full-time instructional faculty: Refer to College Policy 6Hx28: 3D-03 Total Rewards: Vacation, Sick and Personal Leave for Full Time Employees for information on instructional faculty utilizing applicable leaves.
         2. Part-time instructional faculty teaching academic courses: Refer to College Policy 6Hx28: 3D-14 Paid Time Off for Part-Time Faculty Teaching Academic Credit Programs.
      2. Counselors and Librarians: Refer to College Policy 6Hx28: 3D-03 Total Rewards: Vacation, Sick and Personal Leave for Full Time Employees for information on counselors and librarians utilizing applicable leaves
      3. After three (3) consecutive scheduled work days or five (5) scheduled work days in a thirty (30) calendar-day period of absence, the supervisor or designee may require, after consultation with ODHR Leave & Access Services, that a faculty member furnish a medical certificate signed by a qualified health care provider that certifies the absence is due to a medical reason. This documentation shall be obtained by the faculty member at their own expense. Documentation should be sent by the faculty member to ODHR Leave & Access Services for review and evaluation. At the conclusion of the absence, the faculty member must be able to perform all their essential job functions, with or without a reasonable accommodation(s). It is the responsibility of the employee to notify ODHR Leave & Access Services should they need to request a reasonable accommodation(s) as outlined in College Policy 6Hx28: 2-02 Workplace Accommodations for Applicants and Employees.
   4. Deductions from Salary of Faculty
      1. Partial day or full day deductions from pay are permissible under certain circumstances including, but not limited to, the following:
         1. For absences from work when the employee has exhausted personal, sick leave, or paid time off as applicable
         2. In the employee’s initial or terminal week of employment if the employee does not work the full week
         3. For time in which the employee takes unpaid leave
         4. For overpayment of wages
         5. To recover unauthorized payments
         6. For repayment of obligations incurred by the employee relating to their employment at the College

      Refer to College Policy 6Hx28:3C-01.2 Faculty Workload for further information related to Instructional Employees.

Procedure History: Adopted 12-11-74; Amended 12-15-82; Amended 11-18-92; Amended 11-2-16; Amended 4-17-18; Amended 2-24-21; Amended 4-21-21; Amended 12-5-24; Amended 2-20-25; Amended 7-1-25; Amended 12-4-25; Formerly 6Hx28:2-04; Formerly 6Hx28:2-05; Formerly 6Hx28:07-42; Combines/repeals: 6Hx28: 3A-07

Date of Last Procedure Review: 12-04-2025