Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Safe Harbor
Effective: September 1, 2024
Contact: University Human Resources (UHR)
Policy Statement
Iowa State University (“ISU”) designates each employee as either exempt or nonexempt in compliance with applicable federal and state law. Employees who are designated as exempt are paid a fixed salary regardless of the number of hours worked each week or the quality or quantity of work and are not entitled to overtime pay.
It is ISU’s intent to (1) pay all employees qualifying as exempt under the current provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on a salary basis; (2) prohibit improper deductions from the salary of exempt employees; and (3) promptly correct any improper deductions. ISU prohibits deductions from exempt employees’ salaries except those allowed by applicable federal, state, and local law. ISU prohibits all supervisors and managers from making any improper deductions from the salaries of exempt employees.
Subject to the exceptions listed below, exempt employees must receive the full salary for any workweek in which the employee performs any work. Exempt employees do not need to be paid for any workweek in which they perform no work. Deductions from exempt employees’ pay are permissible for:
- Full-day absences from work for personal reasons, other than sickness or disability;
- Full-day absences from work due to sickness or disability, if the deduction is made in accordance with a bona fide plan, policy or practice of providing compensation for loss of salary caused by sickness or disability;
- Offsets for amounts received for jury duty, witness fees, or military pay;
- Penalties imposed in good faith for violations of major safety rules;
- Unpaid, full-day disciplinary suspensions imposed in good faith for violations of workplace conduct rules;
- Full days not worked during an employee’s first or last week of employment; and
- Full-day or partial-day absences for unpaid leave taken under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Employees should review each paycheck for errors. If an employee believes that an improper deduction has been made to their salary, the employee should immediately contact timeandabsence@iastate.edu. ISU will review all reports of improper deductions. If it is determined that an improper deduction has occurred, the employee will be promptly reimbursed for any improper deduction made.
ISU prohibits and will not tolerate retaliation against any employee because that employee filed a good faith complaint under this policy.