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Policy and Procedure Statements

FSS/PPS 04.05 - On-Call Procedures

On-Call Procedures

FSS/PPS No. 04.05
Issue No. 8
Effective Date: 7/11/2022
Next Review Date: 9/01/2026 (E2Y)
Sr. Reviewer: Associate Vice President for Facilities; Director of Auxiliary Services

POLICY STATEMENT

Texas State University will comply with the requirements of U.S. Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standard Act when determining compensation (hours worked and overtime) for employees in on-call and call-back status.

  1. SCOPE

    1. This policy and procedure statement (PPS) establishes the procedures for on-call response in the Finance and Support Services (FSS) Division, exclusively for the Facilities Department and Parking Services. All other university and FSS units should follow their specific procedures for on-call and related compensation.

    2. This FSS/PPS also establishes the basis for on-call compensation to provide payment for employees who are scheduled to respond to calls after regular work hours, on weekends, holidays, and energy conservation (EC) days.

  2. PROCEDURES FOR ON-CALL RESPONSE

    1. An employee who is on-call must be available for recall for the entire on-call period for which the employee is being compensated. Being on-call requires that the employee be available to immediately respond to a callback. During the call-back period the employee must remain fit to perform the required duties of their position. Failure to respond to a callback may result in disciplinary action.

    2. Most on-call employees will be on-call either all week or weekends only.

      1. Facilities Operations – On-call duty will be based on a weekly on-call schedule. Employees will be on-call Monday through Friday from the end of the normal workday, 5:00 p.m., and continue until 7:00 a.m. the next day. They will also be on-call from 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. EC days will be treated as normal workdays. Holidays will be treated as a weekend day.

      2. Custodial Operations – On-call duty will be based on a weekly on-call schedule. Employees will be on-call Monday through Friday from the end of the normal workday, 5:00 p.m., and continue until 7:00 a.m. the next day. They will also be on-call from 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. EC days will be treated as normal workdays. Holidays will be treated as a weekend day.

      3. Parking Services – On-call duty will be based on a weekly on-call schedule Monday through Friday, as well as Saturday and Sunday. EC days will be treated as normal workdays. Holidays will be treated as weekend days.

      4. Utilities Operations – On-call duty for Utilities Operations (except for Electrical Distribution) will be based on a weekly on-call schedule. Employees will be on-call Monday through Friday from the end of the normal workday, 5:00 p.m., and continue until 7:00 a.m. the next day. Electrical Distribution employees will be on-call Friday through Thursday from the end of the normal workday 5:00 p.m., and continue until 7:00 a.m. the next day. All Utilities shops will also be on-call from 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. EC days will be treated as normal workdays. Holidays will be treated as weekend days.

    3. Each on-call employee will receive a special payment for the week they are on-call. Weekly on-call will be calculated at $12 per weekday (non-holiday or EC day) and $24 per day for Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. A normal week (no holidays) of on-call will be $108 (5 x $12 + 2 x $24). Weekend Only on-call employees will receive $48 (2 x $24).

    4. Employees will be reimbursed for mileage traveled from their home address on file in SAP using personal vehicles to respond to campus for callbacks. Payment for mileage will be calculated at the standard State of Texas mileage rate. Employees may calculate the distance traveled from their home address on file in SAP either by odometer reading or by calculating distance traveled by using MapQuest. This documentation must always be attached to the Personnel Change Request (PCR).

    5. If an employee is called back, the employee will begin logging hours when they arrive at the university, either straight time or overtime, depending on whether or not 40 hours of work will be achieved for the week. The employee will be compensated for a minimum of two hours of work if on campus for two hours or less. If on campus more than two hours, the employee will be paid for the actual amount of time spent on campus.

    6. When called back, a Facilities employee will report their presence to the Central Plant Control Room operator at 512.245.2108. The employee will also keep the Control Room operator apprised of the callback work and report to Control Room operator when departing campus. The Control Room operator will maintain a log of callbacks including the time of the callback, the nature of the callback, and the name of the employee responding. The Control Room operators will provide a callback summary to Facilities directors and assistant directors daily.

    7. Almost all calls for Parking Services are made directly to the cell phone carried by the employee and typically do not require a visit to campus. However, a Parking Services employee will report their presence to the associate director of Parking Services via email when it becomes necessary to come to campus.

    8. If a Facilities employee responding to an on-call request determines that additional help is needed, they will contact their shop’s supervisor to request assistance. If the supervisor is unavailable, the employee will contact the next person in the chain of command. They will continue to work their chain of command until they talk to someone to get guidance or assistance (e.g., shop supervisor, followed by assistant or associate director, followed by director, followed by associate vice president for Facilities).

    9. The Facilities employee will respond to the Control Room operator or the University Police Department dispatcher within 15 minutes via telephone and should be on campus within one hour (60 minutes) when responding in person, on campus. If the on-call employee cannot be reached or does not respond to the Control Room operator or dispatcher within 15 minutes, the employee’s shop supervisor shall be called and notified. If the employee’s immediate shop supervisor is unavailable, the assistant director (if there is one) shall be notified. If the assistant director is unavailable, the director shall be notified (see Facilities chain of command).

    10. If the designated on-call employee is sick, the supervisor will designate a replacement for that employee until the employee returns to full duty. The employee must keep their supervisor informed if at any time they are unable to fulfill their assigned on-call duties.

    11. The following shops will normally be on-call:

      1. Technical Services: 2 people all week

      2. Steam & Waterworks: 1 person all week

      3. Electric: 1 person all week

      4. Plant Mechanics: 1 person all week

      5. Plumbing: 1 person all week

      6. HVAC: 1 person all week

      7. Structures (Carpentry): 1 person all week

      8. Custodial: 1 person all week

      9. Electrical Distribution: 1 person all week

      10. Facilities Maintenance: 1 person all week

      11. Parking Services: 1 person all week

      12. Ingress Management Services: 1 person all week

      The associate vice president for Facilities or the director of Auxiliary Services may designate additional staff to be on-call as required by special conditions, such as anticipated severe weather.

    12. Supervisors of on-call employees will maintain a rotation of on-call employees, considering the personal needs of the individual employees, such as scheduled vacations and other personal matters. For safety reasons, supervisors will only designate a person on-call when the person is sufficiently familiar with the campus operations for which they are expected to respond.

    13. Payment for on-call will be made by PCR at least monthly, or more frequently, as determined by the department.

  3. REVIEWERS OF THIS PPS

    1. Reviewers of this PPS include the following:

      PositionDate
      Associate Vice President, FacilitiesSeptember 1 E2Y
      Director, Auxiliary ServicesSeptember 1 E2Y

  4. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

    This PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State Finance and Support Services policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

    Associate Vice President for Facilities; co-senior reviewer of this PPS

    Director of Auxiliary Services; co-senior reviewer of this PPS

    Vice President for Finance and Support Services