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Working at Cornell
Cornell Employment: Standard Work Schedule
Standard Workweek
The standard workweek for the university is thirty-nine hours and begins at 12:00 midnight Thursday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday of the following week. There are a number of specified nonexempt positions on campus that have a forty-hour standard workweek. Exempt staff are paid for the work they perform rather than for the hours worked. Their hours may vary from the standard workweek depending on the needs of their department.
The standard work schedule may differ, depending on whether the work performed is categorized, according to federal law, as a position that is covered by the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (referred to as a nonexempt position) or as a position that is not covered by the FLSA (referred to as an exempt position). Staff covered by FLSA are eligible for overtime pay and therefore must keep accurate records of time worked. Staff not covered by the FLSA (exempt from the FLSA) are not eligible for overtime pay. See HR Policy 6.7.10: Standard Workweek and Pay Period
Pay Period
Nonexempt staff are paid on a biweekly basis (26 pay periods/year) and exempt staff on a semimonthly basis (24 pay periods/year). Nonexempt staff receive their paychecks one week after the close of the pay period. Exempt staff receive their paychecks on the fifteenth and the last day of the month. If either day falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, the paydate will be the previous business day. See HR Policy 6.7.10: Standard Workweek and Pay Period for details.
Rest Period
While rest periods are not required by law, each department can establish its own policy within the following guidelines. The rest period is considered time worked and should not exceed fifteen minutes. The rest-period time may not be added to the lunch hour or other off-duty time. The rest-period time cannot be accumulated to provide for a prolonged time-off period. The scheduling of rest periods should not interfere with the department’s normal operation and the rest period should not occur at the beginning or conclusion of the workday. See HR Policy 6.7.10: Standard Workweek and Pay Period for details.
Meal Period
If you are a nonexempt staff member who works more than four hours, including the period of 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., your department must provide, and you must take, at least thirty minutes for a meal period.
If you are a nonexempt staff member scheduled to work a shift that begins before 12:00 noon and continues later than 7:00 p.m., you must take an additional meal period of at least twenty minutes between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
If you are nonexempt and are scheduled to work a shift of more than six hours that begins between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., you must take a meal period of at least thirty minutes at a time approximately halfway between the beginning and the end of the shift.
Meal periods are unpaid and cannot be accumulated to provide for a prolonged time-off period. See HR Policy 6.7.10: Standard Workweek and Pay Period for details.
DISCLAIMER: The policies contained in this handbook are not conditions of employment, and are not intended to create a contract between the university and its employees. The university reserves the right to amend or revoke the policies in this handbook at any time without notice. The university reserves the right to change the content of this handbook at any time. Nothing contained in this handbook constitutes a promise or guarantee of continuing employment or benefits.