Excess Plus/Minus Processing Notes

I. Summary: 

When an employee’s work schedule differs from the State’s standard shift of Monday through Friday, eight hours per day, the total number of hours worked may be different than those prescribed by the State. In compliance with Fair Labor Standards and your Collective Bargaining Agreement, when the hours worked are in excess of the standard hours for the month, an excess (plus) balance is created. When the hours are less than the standard month, it results in an excess (minus) balance.

Normally, at the end of any month that a plus balance exists, the Human Resources Office will process payment for those hours in the following month. If a deficit balance exists at the end of a month, it will be carried forward each month and will be offset by any excess hours worked in subsequent pay periods in that calendar year. We are required, however, to reconcile all deficit balances at the end of each calendar year. Employees may use vacation, compensatory time off (CTO), Holiday Credit or Personal Holiday to offset the deficit balance. If no leave balance exists, employees may be docked or an accounts receivable can be established for repayment. Excess plus balances at a month’s end may not be “banked” to cover subsequent deficit hours.

II. Excess Minus Example:

Joe Employee works a 4/40 schedule (4 days per week, 10 hours per day), Monday through Thursday. The pay period for October of 2012 began Monday, 10/1 and ended Wednesday, 10/31. Regular schedule employees (5 days per week, 8 hours per day) will have worked 176 hours. Joe’s time would be counted as follows:

• Week of 10/1 - 10 hours

• Week of 10/5-8 - 40 hours

• Week of 10/12-16 - 40 hours

• Week of 10/19-22 - 40 hours

• Week of 10/26-29 - 40 hours

• Total - 170 hours

Joe will receive a regular paycheck, but has a deficit of 6 hours. He worked 6 hours less than someone on a standard schedule. This “Excess Minus” time will be calculated and tracked by People Soft Absence Management as -6 hours, which can be viewed in the Absence Report titled Excess Plus/Minus - Negative. The balance will carry forward until:

• He has “Excess Plus” hours that offset the debit, or

• the end of the calendar year, at which time the debit must be reconciled by use of either Vacation, Compensatory Time Off, Holiday Credit or Personal Holiday. Please note that Holiday Credit and Personal Holiday may only be taken in one-day increments. If employees do not have sufficient leave balance to cover the deficit, a dock in pay or accounts receivable should be processed.

* As a reminder, usage of Personal Holidays in hourly increments is not permitted. A Personal Holiday must be used as one full day of an employee's regular work schedule.

All excess plus/minus reconciliation must be reported to Payroll using the Prior Pay Period Adjustment Form.

Employees must be notified annually by the department via memo of Excess Plus/Minus action. Please see the sample Notice to Non- Exempt Employees Assigned to "Alternate" Work Schedules.

III. Excess Plus Example:

Jane Employee works a 4/40 schedule (4 days per week, 10 hours per day), Wednesday through Saturday. The pay period for October 2009 began Thursday 10/1 and ended Saturday 10/31.  Regular schedule employees (5 days per week, 8 hours per day) will have worked 176 hours. Jane’s time would be counted as follows:

• Week of 10/1-3 - 30 hours

• Week o 10/7-10 - 40 hours

• Week of 10/14-17 - 40 hours

• Week of 10/21-24 - 40 hours

• Week of 10/28-31 - 40 hours 

• Total 190 hours

Jane must be compensated for the 14 hours additional she has worked. The corresponding time will be tracked by PeopleSoft Absence Management. The hours can be viewed in the Absence Report titled Excess Plus/Minus – Positive.

The Payroll Office will access these reports each month, and pay overages accordingly, when the positive payroll is paid on the 15th of the succeeding month.

Employees must be notified by the department via memo of Excess Plus/Minus action. Please see Technical Letter 2003-28 for sample notification memos. 

IV. Miscellaneous Items:

DOCKS – If an employee takes time off that is not covered by leave time, process the dock as usual. This time is NOT counted towards Excess Plus/Minus – they will have already been docked.

SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL - Employees who regularly work a shift eligible for differential pay will continue to be paid the shift differential in total for the month for the actual number of hours worked. For example, an employee who works 180 hours in a standard month of 176 hours should have the shift differential entered for 180 hours. Excess Plus time is paid at the base rate only.

CTO – Employees who WORK on a University observed paid holiday will continue to be compensated in the regular manner; earning a regular day of wages, plus either Compensatory Time Off at the premium rate (1.5, absence element reporting code CTO Premium Earn), OR payment as cash in the form of Overtime (also 1.5, Time and Labor time reporting code OTPR).

Questions should be directed to Payroll Administration, x 2101.