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Administrative Procedure 4132 - Timekeeping and Leave Reporting

Administrative Procedure 4132 - Timekeeping and Leave Reporting

I. Purpose

To prescribe standard payroll timekeeping and leave reporting procedures for schools and offices of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS).

II. Background

Employees of the school system are normally paid for all primary and additional assignments on a biweekly basis according to the annual Employee Pay Schedule, or as required by collective bargaining agreements between PGCPS and employee unions. The following procedures are used to report and document employee payroll time, attendance and leave:

  1. The Oracle Time and Labor (OTL) Electronic Timecard is the method used by schools and offices to report time and leave for the employee groups listed below.
    1. Biweekly Permanent employees
      1. Primary Assignment.
      2. Additional Assignments.
      3. Extended Learning Option.
    2. Oracle Time and Labor Temps and Subs Time Entry Timecard (Temp and Sub) Electronic Timecard is the method used by schools and offices to report time and attendance for the employee groups listed below.
      1. Substitute Teachers.
      2. Substitute Food Service Workers.
      3. Substitute Paraprofessionals.
      4. Substitute Before and After School Care Workers.
      5. Temporary Hourly Workers.
  2. PGCPS Payroll Services Time and Leave Paper Forms are the method used by schools and offices to report LATE time and attendance for the employee groups listed below. All Paper Form Reports are on the Payroll Services Department Webpage.
    1. Workshops - for regular time submissions use the Workshop Attendance Report.
    2. Long Term Substitute - for late time submissions use the Long-Term Substitute Teacher Compensation Late Time Report. 
    3. Substitute Teachers - for late time submissions use the Substitute Teachers’ Time and Attendance Late Time Report.
    4. Substitute Food Services Workers - for late time submissions use the Substitute Cafeteria Workers’ Late Time and Attendance Report.
    5. Temp Hourly Employees - for late time submissions use the Temporary Hourly Employees’ Late Time and Attendance Report.
      1. Substitute Paraprofessionals.
      2. Substitute Before and After School Care Workers.
      3. Temporary Hourly Workers.
    6. Extended Learning Option Time - (Late Time Submissions) use the Extended Learning Late Time and Attendance Report.
  3. Time and Leave
    1. Types of Leave
      1. Sick Leave - for Personal Sick Leave only for ASASP and for Personal and Family Sick Leave for all other employee groups.
      2. Annual Leave - for 12 month employees.
      3. Personal Leave - for 10 and 11 month employees.
      4. Unpaid Leave – for Worker’s Compensatory and Disability Worker’s Compensation Leave, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Sick Bank Leave and employees who are out of leave, or who are absent from work for 3 days and have not provided any notification to the Time Approver.
      5. Other Leave – for Professional Development, Bereavement, Jury Duty, Military Leave and Assault Leave.
    2. Time and Leave or Time and Attendance Reporting
      1. Exception Basis – Timekeeping on an electronic timecard that is pre-populated with the correct days and hours associated with the employee’s contract employment terms that must have leave and hours beyond the regular contracted hours entered on a direct entry basis.
      2. Direct Entry Basis – Timekeeping on an electronic timecard that must have all days and hours worked entered on a direct entry basis.
      3. Paper Reports – Timekeeping documents used to report to the Payroll Services Department, special payments that are made on an off-cycle basis according to administrative requirements, collective bargaining agreements between PGCPS and employee groups, and for late submissions or corrections.
  4. Time and Leave or Time and Attendance Periods
    1. Biweekly – Pay periods based on the published Employee Pay Schedule. There are generally 26 biweekly pay periods in a calendar year.
    2. Irregular Payments – Special payments that are made on an off-cycle basis according to union or administrative requirements and for late submissions, corrections or adjustments.
  5. Recording of Excessive Leave and Excessive Overtime Hours
    1. Leave – Leave for PGCPS employees in excess of that which is projected according to the Oracle Time and Labor Electronic Timecard must not be entered by Timekeepers and must not be approved by Time Approvers. In instances when the Oracle Time and Labor Electronic Timecard system may not operate correctly, it must be reported to the Payroll Services Department at Payroll-Supervisors@pgcps.org immediately.
    2. Overtime – Overtime hours entered on the Oracle Time and Labor Electronic Timecard must reflect actual hours worked. Hours must not be entered at any value other than 1 hour entered for 1 hour worked by Timekeepers and must not be approved by Time Approvers. In instances when the Oracle Time and Management Electronic Timecard system may not operate correctly, it must be reported to the Payroll Services Department at Payroll-Supervisors@pgcps.org immediately.
  6. Timecard Roster and Timecard Pay Roster Review
    1. Timecard and Timecard Pay Rosters are available through Oracle for Time Approvers and Time Keepers at the beginning of school and at the beginning of each pay period for review and updating. The Timecard Roster should be updated by noting any additions, change or deletions at the beginning of each pay period. Updated and corrected Rosters are automatically returned to Payroll Services for review and coordination of changes with all appropriate ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE 4132 Procedure No. September 2, 2008 Date TIMEKEEPING AND LEAVE REPORTING 4 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Departments in the Division of Human Resources.

III. Procedures

  1. Employee File
    1. As part of the new hire process, and before any individual can receive a paycheck, his/her employee file must be established on the Oracle Human Resources Management System (HRMS) as a permanent, temporary, or substitute employee. The employee file can only be established by the appropriate Human Resources Office. Employees must be set up within 24 hours of the effective employment date. For time and leave reporting purposes, the employee must be assigned to the appropriate organization and their supervisor (time approver) must be assigned to their file. Upon establishment of the employee file, the employee is also assigned an employee identification number (EIN).
  2. Procedures for Processing Employee Biweekly Timecards including all permanent, temporary, and substitute employees reported on the OTL electronic timecards as listed in II. A. and B.
    1. General - At the beginning of each pay period, the Oracle Payroll System produces the electronic timecards for distribution to Timekeepers and Time Approvers for the school and administrative offices, or their approved subdivisions. The timecards reflect a listing of each employee’s assignments authorized by the Human Resources Department.
    2. Permanent Employees as listed in II. A. (Biweekly Payroll) - If an employee is hired in a permanent position with an annual salary and benefits, the OTL Electronic Timecard is pre-populated with the correct days and hours associated with contract employment terms. The Timekeepers record leave on an exception basis and all time (hours) beyond regular contracted hours and Regular Extra Time for all Primary Assignments on a direct entry basis. Extended Learning Option Time is also recorded by Direct Entry.
    3. Temp and Sub Employees as Listed in II, B. (Biweekly Payroll) - If an employee is hired in a temporary or substitute position with no annual salary or benefits, the actual time worked during the pay period must be directly entered on the Temp and Sub Electronic Timecard.
      1. If a temporary or substitute employee is not set up on the Temp and Sub Timecard, contact the appropriate Human Resources Office of Administrative and Support Personnel and request that they be set up. In addition, contact the assigned Payroll Services Office payroll clerk or technician.
      2. After the temporary or substitute employee has been set up on the timecard, make the time and attendance entries or submit a late submission form to the Payroll Services Department if the end of the pay period has passed.
    4. Overtime and Compensatory Time-Off - Overtime and Compensatory Time-Off timekeeping requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act and the applicable collective bargaining agreements between PGCPS and employee unions. Timekeepers and Time Approvers must refer to Administrative Procedure 4148, Compensatory Time-Off and Overtime Pay for Non-Exempt Employees and 4148.1, Positions Exempt from Overtime Under Fair Labor Standards Act.
      1. Overtime - Work in excess of the normal workweek. Overtime is administered according to Fair Labor Standards Act and applicable collective bargaining agreement requirements.
      2. Compensatory Time - Time off given an employee in return for the performance of overtime in a given pay period. Compensatory Time-Off is administered according to the Fair Labor Standards Act and applicable collective bargaining agreement requirements.
  3. Time Keeping Responsibilities
    1. Time Approvers (Also referred to as the Leave Granting Authority)
      1. Time approvers are assigned their responsibility according to the organizational work flow structure of PGCPS by listing the time approver as the “supervisor” for employees assigned to their “organization.” It is the responsibility of Time Approvers to:
        1. Establish and maintain an accurate and effective system for documenting and approving leave requests, time worked, and temporary and substitute employee time and attendance. Timekeepers and Time Approvers must consistently review internal procedures for capturing, reporting, recording and approving time and leave for all employees assigned to their location or organization. Documents such as leave request forms, sign-in sheets, time sheets and other documentation used to record time and leave must be approved by the Time Approver and filed in the Time Approver’s school or office for accountability and audit purposes.
        2. Maintain knowledge of PGCPS timekeeping requirements.
        3. Monitor, review, account for, and approve the hours worked or leave taken for all employees assigned to their location or organization, and to report discrepancies reflected on the timecards to the Payroll Services Office.
        4. Participate in Continuing Professional Education activities as described below.
          1. Required for new Time Approvers – AIS Training and Support Class for new time approvers before receiving time approver responsibility and security clearance. If the training cannot be completed by the end of the first pay period the time approver is appointed, a one-on-one session with an AIS Training and Support Trainer must be scheduled as soon as possible.
          2. Required for Security Cleared Time Approvers – Training activities scheduled to inform time approvers of major changes in timekeeping procedures or timekeeping systems as scheduled by AIS Training and Support.
      2. The default Time Approvers for administrative offices and programs include:
        1. Division Chiefs.
        2. Zone Executive Directors.
        3. Department Directors.
      3. Principals are the default Time Approvers for schools.
      4. Exceptions to the work flow default assignments can be made at the request of the Chief Administrator of the major divisions of PGCPS or the Zone Executive Directors and presented to the Chief Financial Officer for approval. Exception assignment requests will be considered for workload or alternative time approval reasons.
        1. For the purpose of assigning manageable workloads for time approving responsibilities. Examples include assistant principals, supervisors and managers. All Delegated Time Approvers must complete Time Approver training before being assigned time approval responsibilities and must meet required Continuing Professional Education Activities. (Scheduled for implementation after January 1, 2009.)
        2. Alternative Time Approver – For the purpose of approving time cards when an assigned time approver is unable to approve timecards because of long term illnesses, vacations, assignments out of their building, vacancies, or for other reasons that prevent the assigned time approver from completing this responsibility. Examples include superordinates or subordinates (division chiefs, zone executive directors, directors, assistant principals, supervisors and managers) in their organizational work flow structure. Alternate Time Approvers must complete Time Approver training before being assigned timekeeping responsibilities and must meet required Continuing Professional Education Activities. (Scheduled for implementation after January 1, 2009.)
      5. Timecard Approval - Timecards are required to be approved by Time Approvers by 5:00 PM on the last day of each biweekly time period as noted in the published Employee Pay Schedule. The OTL Timecard Approval Schedule established by Payroll Services must be followed for efficiency in processing time and leave for pay purposes. Time cards must accurately reflect the time worked and leave taken for employees assigned to each specific work location.
        1. The purpose of Time and Leave Approval is to ensure that employee time and leave for payroll processing is accurate and submitted on time. Source documents such as leave request forms, sign-in sheets, time sheets and other documentation used to record time and leave should be compared to the Oracle Time and Labor Timecard to ensure accuracy. Time and Leave approved by the Time Approver certifies that the Oracle Time and Labor Timecard is consistent with the source documentation, accurate, and is being submitted on time.
        2. Source documents such as leave request forms, sign-in sheets, time sheets, and other documentation used to record time must be signed by Time Approvers signifying that they are accurate. This documentation should be organized and filed in the Time Approvers Office in a manner that will facilitate compliance reviews for internal, external, state and federal requirements.
        3. Timecards not approved according to this requirement and the OTL Timecard Approval Schedule will be returned to Time Approvers via the OTL Timecard Approval Notification Schedule. Time Approvers will have an additional period of time to review and approve the timecards. The Time Approvers supervisor will be informed of any timecards still needing approval after this period of time.
      6. Alternative Time Card Approval - There are times when a Time Approver will be away from their office or for other reasons will not be able to review and approve timecards according to the required procedures. When a time approver is not able to approve and submit timecards for their school or office location, they must follow the Alternative Timecard Approval Procedure described below.
        1. Short-term Alternative Time Card Approval Procedure – Described in the OTL Time Approval Schedule and designed for times when the Time Approver will be out of the office on Time Approval Day.
        2. Long-term Alternative Time Card Approval Procedure – Designed for long-term absences due to illness, assignment change, vacancy or other reasons for long periods of time. The Time Approver or Time Approver’s Supervisor should e-mail a request for alternative time card approval responsibilities to PayrollSupervisor@pgcps.org.
          1. Stating the reason that will prevent the approval of timecards.
          2. Requesting an alternative Time Approver be assigned.
          3. E-mailing copies to the:
            1. School or office Timekeeper.
            2. Zone Executive Director or Division Chief as appropriate.
          4. The Director of Payroll Services will contact the Zone Executive Director or Division Chief as appropriate to determine an appropriate Alternative Time Approver.
          5. The Director of Payroll Services will request that the Office of Human Resources Information Systems make this temporary assignment.
          6. If a Time Approver is not able to submit the Alternative Time Card Approval Request, the school or office timekeeper must make the request following the same procedures and copying the request to the Time Approver and the Zone Executive Director or Division Chief.
    2. Timekeepers - Timekeepers are assigned their responsibility according to the Work Flow Organizational Structure of PGCPS and report to their assigned Time Approver. It is the responsibility of Timekeepers to:
      1. Maintain knowledge of PGCPS timekeeping requirements and maintain skill in the use of the PGCPS time keeping system.
      2. Accurately and timely record time, leave, and attendance for all employees assigned to the Time Approver's school, work location, or office.
      3. Participate in continuing professional education activities as described below.
        1. Required for new Timekeepers – AIS Training and Support Class for new timekeepers, before receiving timekeeper responsibility, and security clearance. If the training cannot be completed by the end of the first pay period the timekeeper is appointed, a one-on-one session with an AIS Training and Support Trainer must be scheduled as soon as possible.
        2. Required for Security Cleared Timekeepers - One of two activities described below is required for timekeepers already approved for security clearance.
          1. AIS Training and Support Class – before the beginning of the school year or
          2. Attending and participating in the eORG Focus Group monthly meetings.
      4. Submit accurate timecards to the Time Approver in time for review and approval by 12:00 PM (Noon) on the last day of each pay period as published in the Employee Pay Schedule.
      5. Report discrepancies on the Timecards to their Time Approver, the Payroll Services Office, and the appropriate Human Resources Office.
      6. Follow all procedures included in this Administrative Procedure or included in supplementary documents distributed by the Payroll Office or AIS Training Office.
  4. Procedures for Processing Time and Attendance for Workshops for regular time submission:
    1. Workshop payments are for Unit I (PGCPS), Pay Type 10 employees.
    2. Time and Attendance for employees participating in workshops sponsored and conducted by schools and offices for curriculum development, staff development, and other activities for the purpose of improving student, school, and school system performance must be reported to the Payroll Services Department by the sponsoring school or office on the Workshop Attendance Report according to the instructions on the form.
    3. Sponsoring schools or offices must establish effective means of recording and verifying attendance at workshops. Minimally, these must include records of employee’s full name, Employee Identification Number and dates and times of attendance.
  5. Procedures for Processing Late Time Submissions for substitute teachers, substitute food service workers, temporary hourly employees (including substitute paraprofessionals, substitute before and after school care workers and temporary hourly workers), and Extended Learning Option Time.
    1. Timecard submission for this group of employees is due the last day of a pay period on the Temp and Sub Time Entry Electronic Timecard.
    2. In the event that extenuating circumstances prevent the timely submission of time for these employee groups, the late submission of time can be made on the appropriate paper form by the Time Approver.
    3. The appropriate paper report must be completed by the Timekeeper according to the instructions on the form and submitted to the assigned payroll technician in the Payroll Services Department by the Time Approver.
  6. New Hires - Newly assigned employees who do not appear on the Timecard must be added to the Human Resources Master File by the Appropriate Human Resources Office. New hires that show up at a work location and are not on the timecard must be reported to the appropriate Human Resources Office and the Payroll Services Department immediately by the Time Keeper or Time Approver. New hires reported to the Appropriate Human Resources must be set-up within 24 hours of the notification from the work location.
  7. Terminated Employees - If an active employee has terminated, the Time Approver must submit a separation notice via e-mail or facsimile to the appropriate Human Resources Office and the Payroll Services Department within 24 hours of the effective date of separation. The Human Resources Office must remove the employee as an active employee from the Human Resources Management System and submit a Personnel Action Sheet (PAS) to the Payroll Services Office within 48 hours of the effective date of separation.
  8. Transferred Employees - If a listed employee has transferred to another school/location and the gaining school/location is known, the Time Approver or Timekeeper must inform the appropriate Human Resources office and the Payroll Services Department of the new location, employee name, EIN and the date of the last day worked at the sending location within 24 hours. If the listed employee has transferred to another school/location and the gaining school/location is not known, the Time Approver or Timekeeper must inform the Appropriate Human Resources Office and the Payroll Services Department within 24 hours.
  9. Pay Periods - Timekeepers and Time Approvers must adhere to the pay periods listed in the published Employee Pay Schedule when recording time or leave for all employees. Changes to timecards from previous pay periods cannot be made by Timekeepers on the electronic timecard. Changes or corrections to timecards that are no longer available to Timekeepers must be made following the procedures for late submissions.
  10. Inclement Weather and Other Emergency Conditions - Refer to Administrative Procedure 2565.1 for detailed guidance on employee attendance during inclement weather and other emergency conditions.
  11. Workers’ Compensation - Refer to Administrative Procedure 4146.1 for detailed guidance on workers’ compensation leave.
  12. Final Salary Check upon Employee Resignation or Termination: Refer to Administrative Procedure 4149 for detailed guidance on final salary check upon employee resignation or termination.
  13. Assault Leave - Refer to Administrative Procedure 4154 for detailed guidance on assault leave.
  14. Military Leave - Refer to Administrative Procedure 4155 for detailed guidance on military leave.
  15. Sick Leave in Excess of Ten Consecutive Duty Days - Refer to Administrative Procedure 4151.1 for detailed guidance of sick leave in excess of ten consecutive duty days.
  16. Advanced Sick Leave by Ten and Eleven Month Personnel at Beginning of School Year - Refer to Administrative Procedure 4151.2 for detailed guidance on use of advanced sick leave by ten and eleven month personnel at the beginning of the school year.
  17. Payment to Part-time Employees from School Activity Funds (SAF): Refer to Bulletin M-1-98 for detailed guidance on payment to part-time employees from School Activity Funds (SAF).
  18. Procedure to Process a Substitute Paid from School-Based Management Funded Activities, from a School Funded Activity Other Than School-Based Management or From an Activity Funded by an outside source:
  19. The employee must be set up as a regular substitute employee in the appropriate job description and funding for the position must be submitted to the Finance Office according to procedures found in Bulletin S-1-97.

IV. Related Policies and Procedures

V. Maintenance and Update of these Procedures

These procedures originate with the Department of Payroll Services. An annual review and revision process will be completed by the end of April every year.

VI. Cancellations and Supersedures

This Administrative Procedure cancels and supersedes Administrative Procedure 4132, dated October 1, 1999.

VII. Effective Date

Last Revised: September 2, 2008

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