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Alternate Work Schedules

Overview

When an employee requests an “Alternate Work Schedule” s/he is seeking to work a schedule that varies from the standard 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. schedule five days a week. Most frequently are requests from employees who seek to work ten hours in each day, four days a week. But whatever the proposed schedule is, the total number of hours must be forty per week or eighty per pay period (depending on whether the employee is exempt for FLSA purposes or not).

How do I request an Alternate Work Schedule?

For an employee to request an Alternate Work Schedule, s/he must fill out a Alternate Work Schedule Request Form which requires the employee to specify what their alternate schedule would look like for each day of the week (including their lunch break). [Note: It doesn’t matter if an employee wants to work two hours or twelve hours in one particular day – they must indicate a period of time for their lunch break for each day.] It is required that the employee request changes at least two weeks in advance of when they would like to begin the Alternate Work Schedule.

What is the review process?

The Alternate Work Schedule request must be filled out completely and be signed by all parties (employee, supervisor, and appointing authority). The HR Manager assigned to the employee's department looks at the employee’s pay grade, proposed alternate schedule, bargaining unit, current overtime category and makes a determination about what the new overtime category and daily hour limit will be. If approved, an email is sent to DHR HRIS. The approved Alternate Work Schedule request form is then forwarded to VSEA for their review. It is then up to the HR administrator to insert the records for the employee in HCM and notify the employee that their alternate work schedule has been approved.