Workday will replace patchwork of timekeeping systems

Timekeeping workshops

Sign up for Workday timekeeping workshops in the WorkCyte section of Learn@ISU

  • Sessions for nonexempt employees are Feb. 6 (2:30-3:30 p.m., 2055 Hoover) and Feb. 19 (3-4 p.m., 1210 LeBaron)
  • Sessions for managers and timekeepers are Jan. 30 (3:30-4:30 p.m.) and Feb. 6 (12:30-1:30 p.m.), both in 2055 Hoover

For a refresher on wage and hour laws, check out the self-guided online course, Wage and Hour Training for Managers, in the UHR section of Learn@ISU or this course on Lynda.com.

Time's almost up for paper timesheets. A timekeeping application in Workday, the university's new enterprise software, will replace the various methods used for tracking hours worked by employees eligible for overtime pay.

When the Workday platform goes live July 1, employees who aren't exempt from the protections offered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) -- including merit staff, student employees and temporary workers -- will use Workday to electronically record their time, Kristi Darr, interim vice president for university human resources (UHR) announced last week in a memo.

Workday will supplant the numerous ways Iowa State's hourly employees record their work time now, a mixture that includes paper timesheets, Tracy Time and other local systems. Logging hours in a standard, digital way in all university workplaces will improve accuracy and consistency, eliminate manual calculations and ensure correct employee pay.

Nonexempt employees, who are required by FLSA to accurately track their work time, will access the system at a minimum four times per day if they work full time -- as their shifts and meal breaks start and end. Employees will check in and out via Workday, either online or with a mobile device. Departments that now use Tracy Time or facilities planning and management physical time clocks will be provided with Workday time clocks.

To be paid, nonexempt workers must submit their digital Workday timesheet to their supervisor. Managers, timekeepers or their delegates will make corrections, if needed, and approve the timesheets online. Workday's timekeeping function feeds directly to payroll, avoiding calculation errors by automatically incorporating pay rules for shift differentials, overtime, on-call time, call backs and holidays.

Questions?

Employees with questions can review the FAQs for employees and supervisors, or contact UHR's Mallory Schon at 294-4081.

While Workday's default setting will pay overtime when an employee works more than 40 hours in a week, employees and supervisors may request to bank those hours as compensatory time instead. Requests for time off also will be submitted through the system.

Workshop sessions on Workday timekeeping for employees and supervisors are planned for the next few weeks. Additional training and resources will be provided in conjunction with Workday's July 1 implementation.