Workforce FAQs

1. I am an hourly employee, how should I enter my time? All nonexempt (hourly) employees that do not utilize the Webclock function or a Time Clock should be entering their hours worked each day directly onto their timesheet.  If you do not enter your hours worked by the end of the day, you should be entering your hours first thing the next morning.  This ensure the hours we enter are correct as we often forget when we work late or had to leave early. 
   
   
2. How do I enter time that spans midnight? When an employee’s time spans midnight the time will be attributed to the day in which the shift originated, therefore, if they came in at 9pm 08/22 – 1am 08/23, the time would count for 08/22. However, if they have a break in worked time of greater than 4-hours and then clock back in to continue their shift the next day this time will not be linked and would count towards 08/23 etc. To manually tie over midnight a plus sign (+) must be used, for example, if you worked Tuesday afternoon at 4pm to Wednesday morning at 1am time would be recorded all on Tuesday as:  In at (4 PM) & Out (+1am).
   


3. I am a Time Keeper for my department, will I get an email when time is due? Only Managers will receive an email reminder from Workforce for when the time deadline for payroll is approaching, however, if you are an employee in the current payroll cycle that is generating you will receive a push email that your personal time is due by the payroll deadline. However, there are downloadable payroll processing calendars available on Payroll website on the Payroll Calendar & Processing Deadlines page.
   


4. Will monthly employees' time pull into the approver's view even if they don't submit it for approval? Yes, biweekly and monthly employees’ time will appear on the approval page even if time has not been submitted. However, it is recommend that all biweekly and monthly staff submit their timesheets to ensure that all employees are checking their time. The approval page will indicate if the time was submitted by the employee.
   


5. Is it acceptable for a supervisor to complete the entire time entry for an employe (e.g. if they were out sick)? Supervisors should request an employee update their timesheet whenever possible. If the employee is out and will not return prior to the end of the pay period, the supervisor can update their timesheet. If a supervisor updates the employee’s timesheet, we highly recommend placing a note in the comment section as to why the change was made. If documentation has been provided by the employee, this should be maintained in the employee’s departmental personnel file as back up documentation for the change.
   


6. Do managers receive an email notification when timesheets are submitted? No managers do not receive an email notification when an employee submits their timesheet. Managers will receive an email when it’s time to approve their employee’s timesheet. We have updated the payroll calendars to reflect the deadline for time to be approved by supervisors in Workforce.
   


7. I made an error on my timesheet and have already submitted it to my supervisor. Can I still change it? Yes. If you need to change your timesheet after you submit it for approval, you can click on the Recall button and your timesheet will be open for changes. Be sure and submit it for approval again after you save your changes.
   


8. I have 2 jobs on campus. How do I enter time for each job? When timesheet users access their Workforce timesheet from the home page, Workforce will prompt you to select the job that you are reporting worked hours for. 

1. During the week prior to winter break, the Workforce system will enter estimated time on the hourly employees’ timesheets?

• Time Clock Users: The Time Clocks will continue to record and store all punches, however, the information will not be uploaded to the timesheet as time will already be estimated and locked from editing. The “actual” clock time will be pulled as a report from Clock Manager and departmental timekeepers and/or managers will compare actual worked time with the employees estimated time to check for necessary corrections, it is best practice to have employees both clock in at the time clock terminal and sign in on paper during this time. Corrections will be made by using the “amend timesheet” function in workforce. Once the time is amended and approved by the supervisor the system compares the employee’s timesheets (original and amended) and the difference in leave, etc. will be pulled in on the current working payroll.


• Web Clock Users: Web punches will not be recorded for the week prior to winter break. Corrections will be made by using the “amend timesheet” function in workforce. Once the time is amended and approved by the supervisor the system compares the employee’s timesheets (original and amended) and the difference in leave, etc. will be pulled in on the current working payroll.


• Time Sheet Users: Corrections will be made by using the “amend timesheet” function in workforce. Once the time is amended and approved by the supervisor the system compares the employee’s timesheets (original and amended) and the difference in leave, etc. will be pulled in on the current working payroll.

1. How much leave/PTO have I accrued? You can check your Paid Leave balance by logging into time.ou.edu and clicking on My Timesheet. At the bottom of the timesheet screen, click on the Time Off tab - your current leave "accrual" will be displayed. If you are needing to check a period of time you can run a report using the reporting action on your home dashboard, for more information on running reports please visit the Workforce for Employees page. 
   


2. How are Holidays and Admin leave handled in Workforce? The designated holidays for the university are automatically loaded on the employee’s timesheet by OU Payroll. The holiday hours are determined by the employees current FTE in PeopleSoft, example - a fulltime 1.0FTE employee would see 8 hours for a holiday in which the university is closed.
   
   Administrative Leave is designated by the university when campus is closed due to inclement weather or other reasons approved by the university President. In the event that administrative leave is approved, Workforce will load the approved time on the employee’s timesheet. You must be in a benefits eligible position on the campus that was closed to receive administrative leave.


3. Why are my Time Off balances different? The balances on the home page are as of today. When you look at the ‘time off’ tab, the balances are for the current pay period. The amount transferring to Extended sick leave will not occur until the last day of the month (monthly employees) or payroll cycle (biweekly employees).
   


4. How will Terminal Paid Leave be entred - Workforce or PeopleSoft? Terminal paid leave will be processed through Workforce. Upon the employee’s termination, the department needs to notify Payroll that employee is or is not eligible to receive terminal paid leave. If the department does not notify Payroll, the Workforce system will automatically pay the eligible terminal paid leave to the employee on the next available payroll based on the employee’s prior appointment no less than 90 days after termination. Departments will no longer need to enter terminal paid leave.


5. How do I request FMLA? If you need to file an FMLA case you will do so by navigating to your 'Time Off Request' action found on your Workforce home dashboard. Once you have selected the 'Time Off Request' function you will then select FMLA leave, after a series of questions if found eligible for FMLA you will begin a dialogue directly with Human Resources (HR), there are additional resources regarding Workforce leave functions on the Workforce for Employees page.
   


6. If an employee reports more time off than they have available in their leave accrual, how does Workforce record the time? Workforce will allow the employee to go up to 8 hours in the deficit. After a negative 8 hours is reported, Workforce will convert the paid leave to leave without pay. 

1. Does an Adjunct employee need to use Workforce to log ACA hours? Adjunct employees will log into time.ou.edu to track estimated ACA hours each month.  An adjunct employee should report how many hours he/she works each day using the Safe Harbor method. 
   


2. How many ACA hours do I report as an Adjunct employee? For each credit hour the Adjunct is teaching as the Instructor of Record, he/she can use the Safe Harbor method which is 2.25 hours of service per credit hour. You can find the Safe Harbor chart by visiting the Affordable Care Act page under Payroll Managers and Coordinators.
                                
3. Do 9/9 or 9/12 Faculty members need to use Workforce to report time every month? Faculty members need to log into time.ou.edu to report the use of Extended Sick Leave or FMLA time each month and submit their timesheets for approval.
   If the faculty member is a supervisor of other employees, i.e. has the ability to hire, discipline or terminate an employee, they will need to log into time.ou.edu and approve their employees time each pay period. 


4. How does a Faculty member initiate an FMLA leave request? Faculty members will also initiate a request for FMLA leave through the “My Time Off” link in time.ou.edu. 
   
   
5. How do I request affiliate status for a visitor to the university? To appoint an affiliate, the department must complete a paper PAF form requesting an affiliate status and have the Budget Unit or Dean/Director approve, sign and date the form.  The visitor will need to complete a Personal Data Form which must be attached to the paper PAF and sent to the Provost office for approval.  Once the Provost office has reviewed and approved the affiliate status, they will send the paper PAF to Payroll and Employee Services for entry into PeopleSoft.  The preparer of the form will receive an email from Payroll and Employee Services when the affiliate is entered into PeopleSoft. 
   


6. How do I terminate an affiliate status in PeopleSoft? To terminate an affiliate status, the department must complete a paper PAF form requesting an affiliate status to be terminated and have the Budget Unit or Dean/Director approve, sign and date the form.  The form must be sent to the Provost office for approval.  Once the Provost office has reviewed and approved the termination of the affiliate, they will send the paper PAF to Payroll and Employee Services which will then end the appointment in PeopleSoft.

1. For adjunct faculty, students, GA's, and employees with less than .75FTE, how will they report their ACA hours in Workforce?
   

All monthly employees will have ‘Elapsed Hours’ prepopulated on their timesheet based on their FTE, these hours are used to represent 'ACA hours'. Monthly employees can sign into Workforce at time.ou.edu and make adjustments to the hours as necessary. 

For information regarding how these hours should be calculated please visit the Affordable Care Act page loacated under Payroll Managers and Coordinators.

1. If hours are entered and approved incorrectly and we find it on the extract, can the extract be corrected or will we have to do an amended timesheet? Once time is pulled in for payment a change cannot be made as Workforce is the official record for time. You will need to have the employee process an amended timesheet to correct the error.
   
   
2. If hours are entered and approved incorrectly, can we pull the submission back after the supervisor approved but before the extracts come out? Yes, the supervisor can unapprove the timesheet and the employee can make any necessary changes, then resubmit to the supervisor for approval. Once payroll takes the timesheets, no other changes can be made to the timesheet, an amended timesheet is required.
   
   
3. How will students with work-study appear on extracts? When reviewing the payroll extracts, the dollar amount reflected on the extract is the remainder of the payment after work-study has been deducted. The work-study portion will be reflected on the extract for the work-study account reviewed by Financial Aid.

1. Can an employee hold a salaried and an hourly position simultaneously? No. The employee would be appointed to the salaried position in PeopleSoft. Any hours worked on another appointment would be submitted to payroll on a supplemental pay form.
   


2. Can I change my name or add a nickname in PeopleSoft? An employee can only have a preferred first name. The last name must remain your legal name as it appears on the Social Security Card. To add a preferred name, an employee can complete a Personal Data Form and turn it in to Payroll and Employee Services or email payroll@ou.edu and provide the Sooner ID or Employee ID and the requested first name.
   


3. How does Workforce calculate Room & Board for student employees participating in the program? The Workforce system is going to automatically pay the first 36hrs worked in a pay period at the room and board rate. Any worked time reported after the first 36hrs will be paid at the rate attached to their appointment.


4. The Time Clock says offline, was my punch saved? If a time clock terminal shows “Clock Offline” this does not mean that One Card ID swipes are not being collected and/or saved. The terminal may be offline or the servers may be backed up due to heavy data traffic; any logged punches will be uploaded during the next data transfer. However, if the time clock terminal states: “error – badge not found” or “punch not successful” you will need to repeat the action or report the issue to your time supervisor.