Administrative Policies

University Policy No. 2225

Subject: Summer Flex Policy

Responsible Parties:Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Human Resources and Payroll, Heads of Departments, Offices and Activities.  Human Resources and Payroll officially interprets this policy and shall revise or eliminate any or all parts as necessary to meet the changing needs of the university.

Procedures: None

Related Policies: 2202 Flexible Work Policy

I. SCOPE

The summer flex proposal applies to all administrative/professional faculty, classified staff and non-student wage employees.  Part-time classified employees can participate on a pro-rata basis.

II. POLICY STATEMENT

George Mason University supports the twin objectives of a flexible work environment for its faculty and staff and superlative service to the students and the university community at large. To support flexible work, a summer flex schedule will be in effect from the third Sunday in May through the third Saturday in August. Departments have the flexibility to shorten the length of Summer Flex or not participate if it poses operational issues. 

Because the Summer Flex Policy is a pilot project, it is essential that all participants, supervisors and employees, complete the necessary paperwork and submit it to HR and Payroll for recordkeeping. HR and Payroll will collect data and survey participants after Summer Flex ends to provide hard data with which to evaluate the program.

III. DEFINITIONS

Types of Flexible Work:

Alternate Work Schedule: An acceptable schedule, agreed to by supervisor and employee, that enables completion of the traditional forty (40) hours per week in fewer or more than five (5) full workdays.

Compressed Work Schedule: An acceptable schedule, agreed to by supervisor and employee, that enables completion of the traditional forty (40) hours per week in fewer than five (5) full workdays.

Flextime: A work arrangement where an employee of George Mason University works an approved Alternate Work Schedule that enables completion of the traditional forty (40) hours per week in fewer or more than five (5) full workdays. Flextime may include varying the time of day an employee works, the days of the week an employee works, or both.

Job Sharing: A work arrangement where two staff members share the responsibilities of one full-time position, in which each staff member shares a specific proportion of a full-time position. Employees who job share must be considered part-time employees.

Remote Work: A work arrangement where an employee spends most or all of their working hours outside of the traditional place of work.  Remote workers differ from teleworkers in that they work from their home located far enough away from a Mason campus that commuting on a daily basis is not possible, or their position is designed for off-site work.  Visits to the campus are infrequent but can be regularly scheduled.

Telework: A work arrangement where an employee of the university works at an approved alternate work site for an agreed period of time, with most of the work week spent at a university work site.

Other Definitions:

Alternate Work Site: An acceptable site for performing job duties and responsibilities outside the traditional university office where official state business is performed.  Such locations may include, but are not necessarily limited to, employees’ homes and satellite offices.

Overtime: For purposes of Flexible Work Agreements, hours in excess of the approved alternate work schedule.

Flexible Work Agreement: The written agreement between the supervisor and the employee that details the terms and conditions of an employee’s use of a flexible work arrangement, other than telework or remote work.

Telework/Remote Work Agreement:  The written agreement between the supervisor and the employee that details the terms and conditions of an employee’s work away from the traditional Mason office.

Work Schedule: The employee’s hours of work in the traditional university office or in an alternate work location.

IV. RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer is responsible for the implementation and interpretation of this policy. Will review use of the summer flex schedule annually with the Senior Vice President.
  1. Heads of departments, offices, and activities are responsible for assuring approved flexible work requests are within the scope of the summer flex policy and the Telework and Flextime Policy (#2202) and establishing the following quality assurance controls with supervisors and employees where applicable. Heads of departments, offices, and activities:
    1. Are fully responsible for the operations of their respective office/departments and must ensure that sufficient staff are on duty during the regular business hours of their office/department. 
    2. Must plan summer flex schedules that do not result in the need for overtime.
    3. Will ensure that summer flex schedules do not extend beyond the third Saturday in August.
    4. Will ensure that any employee working remotely or using telework during Summer Flex completes a Telework/Remote Work Agreement. 
    5. Will ensure that employees using a compressed schedule during Summer Flex will complete a Flexible Agreement.
    6. Will ensure that employees complete a Flexible Work Agreement for summer flex unless the flexible work start time is within 1 hour of the regular start time (e.g. if the regular start time is 8:30am, no paperwork has to be completed if the flex schedule start time is between 7:30 am and 9:30am).
    7. Reserve the right to rescind an individual’s summer flex schedule with reasonable notice.
  1. Human Resources & Payroll will:
    1. Develop and provide Flextime Schedule Training.
    2. Review all documented flexible work agreements to ensure compliance with Mason policy and State and Federal law.
    3. Serve as a resource to support offices and departments on summer flex and flexible work options in general.
    4. Compile usage statistics on summer flex and survey participants – employees and supervisors – to gather aggregate information on the summer flex program.
  1. Supervisors, Admin/Prof Faculty, and Staff
    1. Participation in the summer flex program is voluntary and requires supervisory approval. Supervisors cannot require that employees participate in a flex time option and there is no employee right to any particular flex time option.
    2. Employee may terminate a summer flex schedule with the approval of the supervisor as terminating a flex schedule has implications for both office coverage and other employees’ flexible schedule arrangements.
    3. Employee will record missed time at work based upon their summer flex schedule. For example: an employee who misses work on a compressed four 10-hour day schedule must account for 10 hours of work missed on a work day, not 8 as if on a regular schedule.
    4. All summer flex arrangements will be in accordance with the Flexible Work Policy 2202.

V. COMPLIANCE

  1. Offices and departments are to be open during regular business hours (normally 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday but may be adjusted depending upon the department (e.g. Library, Facilities, Police)).

  2. If an employee works more than 6 hours in a day, a ½ lunch break is mandatory.  The lunch break cannot be shortened or eliminated to support a flexible work option.  For example, if an employee is working a compressed schedule of 4 ten-hour days, the employee must take a 30 minute lunch period.  They cannot work ten consecutive hours without a lunch break.

  3. Forty hours must be worked (including approved leave) during a full-time workweek, Sunday through Saturday.  Planning must include the impact of any holidays, particularly in the case of compressed scheduling. No exempt or non-exempt (overtime eligible) employee is eligible for more than 8 hours of holiday pay per holiday.  If the holiday falls on the employee’s regularly scheduled work day, the employee will be credited with 8 hours of holiday pay for that day.  Employees may use annual leave to maintain their hours of pay for that day or they may opt to work additional hours sometime during the work week.

D.  Employees who miss work while on summer flex must record missed time based upon their flex schedule.  For example: an employee who misses work on a compressed four 10-hour day schedule must account for 10 hours of work missed on a work day, not 8 as if on a regular schedule.


VI. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPROVAL

This policy is effective July 1, 2008. This policy shall be reviewed and revised, if necessary, annually to become effective at the beginning of the University’s fiscal year, unless otherwise noted.

Approved:

_______________________
Maurice W. Scherrens
Senior Vice President

________________________
Peter N. Stearns
Provost

Date approved: June 25, 2008