On-Call and Call Back Policy for Maintenance Employees 

This policy is only applicable for Maintenance Employees in the Office of Facilities and Maintenance

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE

Facilities and Maintenance non-exempt maintenance employees of Harvey Mudd College may serve, on occasion, in an unrestricted on-call capacity to respond to an unforeseen circumstance or emergency. Employees assigned to on-call status are not required to remain on College premises and are free to leave, engage in personal pursuits, and use their time as they choose. On-call status does not constitute a scheduled work shift; employees are expected to respond only in the event of an occasional unforeseen operational need or emergency.

UNRESTRICTED ON-CALL ROTATION

Employees will be informed of the on-call rotation schedule by the Plant Engineer and Director of Maintenance (PEDM).  Call shifts may include any day of the week, at any time, including Saturday, Sunday and holidays.  It is anticipated that employees will be on call no more than ten to eleven workweeks per year. Employees may, in advance, trade call rotation with other employees and must inform the PEDM of any changes.  If an employee is later unable to fulfill his or her call rotation due to illness or leave of absence or other excused reason, the PEDM will designate a replacement.  Volunteers for additional on call shifts may be granted upon approval of the PEDM and/or the AVP for Facilities and Maintenance (AVP-FM).The College reserves the right to modify or terminate the on-call status designation for any employee on a prospective basis. 

UNRESTRICTED ON-CALL

Unrestricted On-Call status is time during which an employee is free to engage in activities for his/her own personal purposes, but is available to respond by either informing the College how he/she can be reached or carrying a mobile device. Employees have a responsibility to complete requests received by either doing so themselves, asking another employee in the department for help or by contacting the Plant Engineer and Director of Maintenance.  Employees must obtain approval before contacting The Claremont Colleges Services for help.

PROCEDURES

Employees on call are free to pursue their own personal interests during call time and there are no mandated time or geographic restrictions on the employee during this time. Employees will receive a call, if any, on their designated phone number. The College requests that the employee respond within 30 minutes by phone, and respond to campus within two hours if needed.

The employee on call will take ownership of the call, obtain all appropriate information and determine how best to resolve a situation. Sometimes the employee may not need to return back to College premises, but can handle the situation through a phone call.  However, sometimes the employee would need to physically return to the worksite. The employee should be in communication with the PEDM, to discuss the status of repairs and next steps including whether returning back to campus is necessary.  If the PEDM is not available, then the AVP-FM will step in for the PEDM to provide guidance.  All of this time spent on the call or back at campus (and travelling to campus) is paid work time.

If there are circumstances that prevent the on-call employee from him or herself responding to a call or reporting back to work, then that employee should make arrangements with the PEDM  or the AVP-FM to complete the call and/or service, if any.     

Employees must complete a work order that notates what work they performed in response to a call.  

Employees on unrestricted on-call duty are required to comply with applicable company policies during the time they are responding to an authorized call to work (i.e., on call back), including the company’s Drug and Alcohol Policy.

CALL BACK PAY

Employees are free to engage in personal activities, consequently such on-call time is not considered work time and need not, and will not, be paid.  Nevertheless, to recognize the additional time spent working, the College will pay employees who have an on-call designation a $2 per hour pay differential for all hours worked on call back, i.e., answering calls, reporting back to campus and handling matters on campus. The College reserves the right to modify this arrangement prospectively, including the differential amount based upon business needs.  An employee will also earn reporting time pay to the extent required by law.

As only those persons on call are eligible to receive the call back pay differential, an employee who chooses to trade his/her call back responsibilities or is taken off the call back rotation due to illness or other reasons, is not eligible to receive the on call pay differential.

When an employee is called back to work after completing the regular work schedule and leaving the premises, the employee will be paid for time actually worked or a minimum of two hours, whichever is greater, including applicable overtime, if any. If the assignment continues beyond two hours, the call-back pay will continue until the assignment is complete. The call-back pay shall begin when the employee leaves his/her residence or other location at which he/she received the call to report to duty, and the time spent traveling from the worksite back home. The call back pay will be paid at time and one-half an employee’s regular rate even if the hours would not otherwise be eligible for overtime pay and, in compliance with law, will be paid at double time for any hours over twelve in one workday, or after eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.

Call-back time actually worked will be included in the calculation of the regular rate of pay for the purpose of calculating premium overtime pay.

Employees must accurately record on their timesheets all time spent on any calls, all time worked on a call back in response to a call, and all time spent on accompanying paperwork, and other hours worked, if any.

Employees who are required to use their personal cell phones during call time may be reimbursed for their business use of their personal cell phone device per the Cell Phone Use for College Business policy.

Effective: October 28, 2026