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Human Resources

Alternative Work Schedule Request Procedures

Full-time staff are typically assigned a standard work schedule of five days per week and eight hours per day. However, departments may assign alternative work schedules, or full-time employees may request alternative work schedules.

Alternative work schedules for full-time employees must still meet the standard of at least 40 hours of work per University Workweek. The following are examples of alternative work schedules that could be considered by management to meet department needs:

  • employee works 10 hours per day for four days per workweek
  • employee works four nine-hour days and one four-hour day each workweek
  • employee works three 12-hour days and one four-hour day each workweek

Process for Requesting an Alternative Work Schedule

Full-time staff may request an alternative work schedule either verbally or in writing. Requests should be directed to the employee’s direct supervisor. Employees may not begin working an alternative work schedule before they’ve received written confirmation of approval.

The supervisor should take the following steps upon receiving a request for an alternative work schedule from an employee under his or her supervision:

  1. If there is any indication that the employee’s request is related to any disability, illness, injury, or other medical condition (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions) of the employee, the supervisor will contact the Leaves & Accommodations Manager in Human Resources and will coordinate with that office regarding any further consideration of the request. If the request is not related to any of the foregoing health conditions, the supervisor may proceed as described in the following steps.
  2. The supervisor will fairly and objectively consider whether the requested work schedule would:
    • Result in a work schedule for the employee of less than 40 hours in each workweek;
    • Result in the full-time employee working more than 40 hours in any workweek;
    • Compromise the department’s ability to meet customer needs;
    • Compromise the employee’s ability to provide services or fulfill any essential or marginal job functions at the optimal times or in the optimal manner;
    • Interfere with the employee’s attendance at work meetings or other work-related events at which they are needed or required;
    • Overburden other employees within the department with additional work or interfere with other’s ability to coordinate with the employee;
    • Be inconsistent with other decisions of the supervisor approving or denying alternative work schedule requests from other similarly situated employees in the area;
    • Be inconsistent with any policy, practice, or statement applying departmental criteria for approving or discontinuing alternative work schedules; or
    • Adversely impact the department’s operations in any way.
    • If the request for an alternative work schedule would trigger any of the foregoing considerations, the supervisor may either (a) deny the request and inform the employee of the denial, or (b) discuss the concerns raised by the employee’s request with the employee to determine whether the concerns can be resolved by a compromise or alternative arrangement.

    3. If the request for an alternative work schedule would not trigger any of the considerations in Step 2, or if the supervisor has reached a compromise or alternative arrangement proposal with the employee that the supervisor deems acceptable, the supervisor may present the proposal to the additional level(s) of authorization as outlined in the Staff and Student Employee Work Schedule, Break, and Meal Period Policy.
    4. If the proposal is authorized, the supervisor will promptly provide the employee with a written statement confirming the approval and describing the employee’s newly assigned alternative work schedule, along with any conditions, restrictions, or limitations that may apply to the assigned schedule. This written approval will include a statement reminding the employee that the alternative work schedule does not constitute a contractual term of employment and that, according to university policy, the university may modify or rescind the employee’s work schedule at any time as necessary to meet changing departmental needs.

If the alternative work schedule proposal is not authorized, the supervisor will notify the employee of the denial.

Accounting for Holidays and Other Paid Leave for Employees on Alternative Work Schedules

An employee with an alternative work schedule is given no less and no more holiday and other paid leave than an employee with a standard work schedule. Supervisors work with Staff Compensation in Human Resources to address how to handle specific situations.

The following guidelines describe the administration of paid holiday, sick, and annual leave (vacation) hours for full-time staff employees working on approved alternative work schedules.

  1. All sick and annual leave hours will accrue at their normal rate for full-time staff.
  2. All sick and annual leave hours taken will be deducted on an hourly basis, as taken, for full-time exempt staff and on an hourly or partial-hour basis, as taken, for full-time non-exempt staff.
  3. For each approved university holiday, full-time non-exempt staff receive payment for eight hours, credited on the day the holiday occurs. If the holiday falls on a day when a full-time non-exempt staff employee does not work due to an alternative work schedule, the holiday will still be credited on the day the holiday occurs. The department may choose to adjust the employee’s schedule during that same pay period to prevent the payment of excess wages for holiday time not worked. If no adjustment is made, the employee will be paid for the holiday hours at their normal hourly rate in addition to the payment for their regularly scheduled work hours. Please note that paid holiday hours, sick leave hours, or annual leave hours do not count as hours worked for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or the Staff and Student Employee Overtime Policy. Therefore, hourly wages paid for holidays, sick leave, or annual leave will not push an employee into an overtime situation under any scenario, but hours worked will, if they result in the employee working more than 40 hours in the workweek.
  4. Supervisors of exempt staff working alternative schedules should contact Staff Compensation in Human Resources for additional information on how to determine the specific number of holiday hours given for each year. Unused holiday hours do not carry over from year to year, and they are not paid out at employment termination.

To see the university policy to which these procedures are associated, please click here.

Last updated: April 24, 2026