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Payroll

The Payroll Office provides payroll services to faculty, staff, and student employees

We are committed to excellence and dedicated to service by:

  • delivering timely and accurate administration of the payroll in accordance with federal, state, and university rules, regulations, and policies
  • supporting the ongoing development of the payroll processing system
  • training staff and updating the campus as to changes in rules, regulations, and policies
  • promoting the use of electronic methods for transactions and payments
  • providing accurate information and prompt services to the employees and the campus

Employees may contact the Payroll Office at unopayroll@unomaha.edu for questions and/or for assistance.

Calculation of Pay

Biweekly employees

If an employee who is paid bi-weekly is to receive partial pay for the pay period, the calculation formula for the gross partial pay is the number of hours worked, or benefits hours used in each pay period multiplied by the authorized hourly rate.

Monthly staff and nine/twelve pay academic employees

If an employee is paid in a monthly pay cycle and is to receive partial pay for the pay period, the calculation formula for the gross partial pay is: the daily rate is the monthly salary rate divided by the number of workdays in the month (including holidays). The daily rate is multiplied by the number of days actually worked in the month to obtain the partial pay amount for the month.

Nine-month pay employees including staff (academic) employees

If an employee is paid on a nine-month basis and is to receive partial pay for the period, the calculation formula for the gross partial pay is: a daily rate will be determined by the semester salary rate divided by the number of semester days.

Overpays/Underpays

  • Accurate use of the Wage and Hour Report will reduce the number of overpays/underpays.
  • At the time that a Department determines that an employee has been overpaid or underpaid, the department must contact the Payroll office immediately. The Department is responsible to make the necessary corrections. ie. PAF processing, posting time. If an overpay has occurred, it will be a cooperative effort between the department and the Payroll Office to collect the net overpayment from the employee. The department shall make the initial contact with the employee to inform him/her that an overpaid has been paid. The Payroll Office will send a letter to the employee and copy the department. The letter will indicate the details of the overpay and the manner of collection. The department will not receive credit until the employee has paid back the total net pay.
  • If an employee has been underpaid, it is the responsibility of the department to notify the Payroll Office. If the underpay is due to an error in time input, the Department must enter the time and provide the detailed information and any supporting documentation that is requested to the Payroll Office. If the underpay is due to the lack of a Personnel Action Form (PAF) being processed, the Department must process a PAF immediately and notify Data Entry that there has been an underpayment.

Other Pay (Supplemental Pay, Awards, Etc.)

In general, all payments for the compensation of services that are made to University employees will be treated as employee’s wages. This includes:

  • Base pay
  • Supplemental payments (compensation for work performed outside the normal scope of their appointment
  • Awards (i.e. outstanding teaching awards or employee recognition awards)

In circumstances where an employee is given a choice between accepting a cash payment or having those funds directed into a University account, IRS tax law requires that the amount of the award be treated as employee wages, regardless of whether the employee elects to receive the cash or not.

Employer-provided “non-cash” taxable compensation of fringe benefits, such as employer-provided vehicles, complimentary tickets, and club memberships are subject to federal income, state income, and Medicare tax rules. Internal Revenue Code Section 1.61-1 states that all compensation paid to, or on behalf of, an employee constitutes wages subject to income and employment tax withholding unless specifically excluded by IRS code.

Disposition of Final Pay of Deceased Employee

Upon notification of the death of an employee, the Department must notify the Payroll Office immediately. In addition, the Department must complete a PAF to separate the deceased employee. The Payroll Office will contact the Benefits Office to determine the next of kin.

Board of Regents Bylaw [3.4.d1b] is as follows:

  • Upon death, the salary of a full-time academic-administrative staff member shall terminate at the end of the month in which the death occurs. Provided, however, that this provision in no way abrogates the right to receive salary earned, but not yet paid because of the method of prorating academic-year salaried over a 12 month period.
  • Upon death, the salary of a Managerial and Professional staff shall have their salary terminate at the end of the month in which the death occurs.
  • Upon death, the salary of an Office and Service staff shall have their pay terminate at the end of the two-week pay period in which the death occurs.

Unpaid wages, vacation pay, floating holiday pay, and ¼ of accumulated unused sick leave for office service and benefits-eligible temp employees only up to a maximum of 360 hours will be paid out to the “Estate of [deceased]” unless the successor to the decedent (usually the spouse) completes the Affidavit For Transfer of Personal Property Without Probate Under Nebraska Probate Code which is designed to be used when the estate assets subject to probate do not exceed $25,000.

In instances where the spouse meets the qualification set out in the affidavit, the last check will be made payable directly to the spouse. If the spouse cannot meet the terms of the affidavit, the University will issue the last check to the estate through a person who is able to show the University letters of appointment that he/she is the personal representative of the estate. If the spouse qualified to be paid directly, the 1099 Form is processed in the name of the spouse using the spouse’s social security number. If the check must be made out to the estate, the 1099 Form is issued to the estate name and the estates’ tax ID number.

  • Unpaid wages and vacation pay paid to the estate of a deceased employee are not considered wages subject to federal and state income tax withholding. Therefore, these payments do not represent an increase in Federal Income Tax Gross (FIT), and no income taxes are to be withheld on them. If paid before the close of the calendar year in which the employee died, they are considered wages subject to social security withholding, and therefore represent an increase to social security gross. If paid after the close of the calendar year, the payment is not considered wages and it is not social security taxable.
  • Accumulated sick leave paid to the estate of a deceased employee is not considered wages for either federal or state income tax withholding or social security withholding.
  • If the employee was enrolled in the UNO retirement plan at the time of death, the payment made for unpaid wages, vacation pay, and accumulated unused sick leave is also subject to retirement withholding.

Distribution of Paychecks

New hires complete a Direct Deposit Form and their paycheck is deposited in their account.

Payroll schedules will be developed by the Payroll Office Administrative Services Group (ASG). The campus will be notified by e-mail of any changes made to the established schedules.

To obtain the payroll schedules go to the Payroll section of the Forms Directory

  • Biweekly employees: Payday will be every other Thursday as designated by the payroll schedule.
  • Monthly employees: Payday will be the last working day of the month. If the last day of the month is on a weekend or holiday, payday will be the first preceding workday.

If the payday occurs during the campus holiday closedown, those employees on direct deposit will receive their pay on payday. For those employees who receive a paycheck, University Payroll Office will mail the paychecks on the first working day after the holiday closedown.

Garnishments, Levies, Child Support, Etc.

The University's intention is to comply with federal and state laws regarding wage garnishments and wage assignments. The State of Nebraska Department of Administrative Services processes all UNO employee garnishment paperwork.

The State Department of Administrative Services honors all court orders to garnishee wages or wage assignment for child support as well as all levies on wages originating from the Internal Revenue Service. In cases of multiple wage assignments, the priority for honoring them will be in the following order:

  • Child support
  • Federal levies
  • State levies
  • Local tax levies
  • Creditor garnishments

Remittances of monies collected and confidential files will be maintained by the State of Nebraska State Department of Administrative Services.

Recording Hours Worked, Overtime & Compensatory Time

Employees must follow established work schedules. The usual work schedule is 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Normal work hours at UNO are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. An employee will be informed of work schedules by the immediate supervisor.

An employee can record their working time in one of two ways:

  • Electronically through the Firefly portal by accessing the Employee Self Service (ESS)
    • Video tutorials are accessible via the ESS app by clicking on the Sapphire tile and double-clicking the desired training video. For technical support accessing your ESS tool, please contact the UNO Help Desk at unohelpdesk@unomaha.edu or place a ticket at UNO Helpdesk Request
  • By the employee using specific hand scanning time clocks unique to a department.

Overtime for Hourly Paid Employees: All hourly paid employees (including part-time employees) working more than 40 hours in one workweek, shall receive overtime compensation. This may be in the form of overtime pay or compensatory time, both granted at one and one-half hours for every hour worked above 40.

Compensatory Time: For an employee hired after April 1, 1986, the giving of compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay requires a written agreement. If no written agreement exists, payment will be required for all overtime worked. This may be a perpetual one-time agreement or a case-by-case agreement.

For employees hired before April 1, 1986, no written agreement is required. Employees who work overtime may receive pay or compensatory time at the discretion of the department.

Please contact Payroll at UNOPayroll@unomaha.edu before using compensatory time

Payroll Resources

Tutorials for Payroll and ESS Time can be found under the SAPPHIRE tile located on your Firefly Portal