University of South Florida (Tampa)
PAE-11: Sustainable Compensation

Classification and Compensation is responsible for the pay and other terms of employment for Administration, Staff and Temporary positions at USF. To help ensure consistency in the application of these terms of employment, USF has established a classification structure.

One of the most important functions of the Classification Team is determining whether a position is properly classified as exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. FLSA requires that most employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. A special provision of FLSA for public agency employers like USF allows use of compensatory time off at a rate of not less than one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked instead of cash overtime pay.
Every Staff and Administration job at USF has a position description which includes its formal title, department, primary purpose, essential functions, qualifications, and other significant characteristics. In the classification process, a position description is prepared by a supervisor or manager, reviewed by administrators, and submitted to HR where it is associated with a formal job classification.

Every new job is assigned a position number and classified by HR before it is filled. When duties change significantly, jobs are reclassified by HR. During the classification process, the exemption status under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act is also evaluated. Therefore, evaluation of sustainable wages is ongoing.

Although USF requires that contractors comply with the Davis-Bacon Act, the university does not evaluate the wages and benefits policies and guidelines for the employees of contractors operating on campus.

Employees had not received across the board increases in several years due to reduction in state funding and the economic recession. This year, when resources were available, the lowest paid workers received a higher percentage increase than the more highly compensated employees to ensure a more sustainable wage. In addition, benefits, both individual and family, have been provided for all employees working over 30 hours per week effective January 1, 2014.