Systems and Procedures
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
A Division of The Office of Budget and Finance
This payroll procedure within the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) has been designed to accomplish several goals, such as making accurate and timely payments to technical- service (formerly regular) employees and wage payroll (formerly non-regular) employees, accumulation of statistical data for planning and control, and providing accurate information to the Job Cost System so that University departments using the OPP services and personnel are properly billed.
This procedure reflects the current capabilities of the system with respect to job cost input, verification, output to payroll, and the subsequent payment to technical-service (formerly regular) and wage payroll (formerly non-regular) employees.
All technical-service employees are hired through existing Human Resource procedures, as defined in policies HR34 Employment Conditions for Full-Time Staff Employees and HR103 Employment Conditions for Part-Time Employees. This process will provide an 80-hour paycheck every two weeks in accordance with the negotiated contract (see the Teamsters Contract) and Payroll Schedule for Biweekly Payroll periods and Pay Dates.
In order to provide accurate information into OPP’s Abacus Financial system for job costing purposes, Technical-Service employees submit an electronic time-card (Exhibit "A") to their supervisor via the OPP Abacus Time-card System. All applicable fields for each day's work are completed. Supervisors electronically approve each time-card. The information entered and approved on the time-card is electronically sent to Workday for payroll processing and the OPP Abacus Financial system for billing purposes.
Additionally, all hours spent on vacation, holiday and sick leave are recorded in Workday. The OPP System interfaces with Workday on the Human Resources web site.
All wage payroll employees are hired through existing Human Resource procedures, in accordance with policies HR103 Employment Conditions for Part-Time Employees and PR01 University Payroll. Paychecks for these individuals will be issued according to the Payroll Pay Schedule.
In order to provide accurate information in OPP’s Abacus Financial system, wage payroll employees submit an electronic time-card (Exhibit "A") to their supervisor via the OPP Abacus Time-card system. All applicable fields for each day's work are completed. Wage payroll employees are not eligible for shift-premium, call-out (CO), temporary transfer grade (TT GR), or absence time. Supervisors electronically approve each time-card. The information entered and approved on the time-card is electronically sent to Workday for payroll processing and the OPP Abacus Financial system for billing purposes. Earned Time Reports for wage payroll employees are kept recording actual hours worked, holiday hours paid, and earned time accumulated for eligible employees.
A Forty-Hour Salary Exception Report (Exhibit "B") is generated for technical-service and wage payroll employees as part of this process which discloses an excess or shortage of hours, as applicable. Verification of the information summarized on this report is performed, with corrections made based on collaboration with employee/supervisor.
Daily integrations occur between OPP Abacus Time-card system into Workday for processing by the University Payroll Office. Payroll vouchers are prepared, verified, and/or adjusted as necessary prior to generating a paycheck for employees.
Distribution of paychecks for services rendered will be conducted in accordance with University Policy PR11 Salary Deposits and Distribution of Payroll.
Violation of a financial policy and/or procedure should be reported to y our supervisor, unit manager, Human Resources representative, and/or office responsible for the policy and/or procedure. Where those resources are inadequate, you may choose to make an anonymous report through the Penn State University hotline by calling 1-800-560-1637.
The Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring that procedures pertaining to the accountability and safeguarding of all cash receipts, cash funds, and other assets are established and followed in accordance with approved University policies and procedures. Regular audits relating to advances, cash, travel, equipment accountability, and other expenditures provide a means to protect University assets. The Financial Officer is responsible for collaborating with Internal Audit when audits are being performed in the administrative area. Audits relating to sponsored activities or other audits performed by external auditors may also be performed. The Financial Officer would also be responsible for collaborating with the external auditor and/or a central university office related to these procedures.
University Records retention must be managed in accordance with Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management, and Records Retention Schedules approved by the Records Management Advisory Committee, the Office of General Counsel, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. These records retention schedules are derived from - or based upon - federal, state, and local statutes or regulations, University Policy, industry standards, and business needs. All University Records must be maintained in such a manner to provide ease of access, establish a suitable audit trail for all transactions, and to be reviewed prior to disposition.
University Records and Transitory/Disposable Record are defined below. See Policy AD35, Definition of Terms for additional information.
Upon completion of the retention period, University Records must be disposed of via secure destruction or transfer to University Archives, unless an exception to the disposition process set forth below applies. If the disposition method for University Records states "Review by Archives" on the records retention schedule, the employees responsible for those records should consult the University Archivist for a final determination of disposition. For University Records that must be securely destroyed, units may arrange for shredding services by either contacting the Blue/White Shredding Program or the Inactive Records Center.
Exceptions to the disposition process are as follows:
To safeguard the privacy of individuals, records that contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as defined in University Policy AD53 Privacy Policy, or student records, as defined in University Policy AD11 Confidentiality of Student Records, must be destroyed beyond recovery. For additional information regarding privacy and the protection of an individual's personal information, see Policy AD53 Privacy Policy.
Additional questions may be directed to the Office of Records Management.
For questions or additional details, please contact the Financial Officer, F&B Business Operations.
To request changes to this procedure please contact the Office of Systems and Procedures by submitting a GURU Technical Support Request Form.
July 1, 2024