Time and absence reporting requirements differ by employment category.
- Non-exempt hourly employees report both time (hours worked) with a time card as well as any absences each pay period.
- Exempt staff generally do not need to report time (hours worked) with a time card but must report absences.
Time and absence reporting requirements do not apply to:
- Faculty, postdoctoral scholars or graduate students receiving assistantships (see Sick Time on Cardinal at Work)
- Students receiving financial aid or stipends (unless they are employed in a separately paid position)
This page outlines time and absence reporting requirements by employee type, describes reporting methods, and provides links to guidance and Administrative Guide policies for common absence types, including vacation, sick time, holidays and miscellaneous authorized absences. It also explains expectations for time card and absence review and approval, approval delegation, and retroactive adjustments to support timely and accurate pay.
Time cards are used to indicate actual time worked. Time and absences must be entered and approved before the deadline for the applicable pay period. For employees who complete a time card, it is recommended that absences are requested first so the employee can review their absences on the time card when completing time entries. For information on making corrections after a pay period closes, see retroactive time card adjustments. Learn more on time and absence entry on the Sequoia System page.
Absence eligibility and use are governed by the Administrative Guide; record absences each pay period.
| Employment category | Time card guidance (time worked) |
|---|---|
| Exempt employees | Most exempt employees do not enter or submit time cards. Exception: Remote employees who normally work outside of California use the time card to record an alternate tax location when they travel to work in California to allow for correct state taxation of their pay. |
| Non-exempt employees (including hourly-paid temporary and student workers) | Keep an accurate record of daily work hours, including actual start and stop times and meal periods. Because rest breaks are paid, start and stop times for rest breaks do not need to be recorded in the time card. Note: If they missed a rest break or meal period, or could not take them as scheduled, they should contact their manager immediately to arrange appropriate compensation. Employees should save their time entries throughout the pay period and then submit their time card at the end of each pay period to route it to their manager for approval. Note: Some non-exempt employees use a Kaba time clock and do not submit time cards in Sequoia. |
| SLAC employees | Report time worked each pay period using the time card. |
Time reporting methods
The review and approval of employee time and absences are required by university policy to ensure accurate and complete employee pay. Time reporting is facilitated via:
Sequoia
Using Sequoia, Stanford’s online HR and payroll system:
- Employees enter time for each pay period.
- Employees complete an attestation process as they submit their completed time card.
- Managers review and approve employee time cards for accuracy and completeness.
- Payroll is run based on the approved employee time cards in Sequoia.
Learn more on the Sequoia System page.
Time Clocks
Some departments use a time clock for employees to enter “In” and “Out” times. Employees must have an active University ID card to use a time clock. The ID card is scanned at the time clock when employees report to work, start and end an unpaid meal period, and when they leave work. Time clock information is automatically transferred to the time card in Sequoia. For assistance, find instructions for using the Kaba Time Clock.
Absence eligibility and use are governed by the Administrative Guide; record absences each pay period.
| Absence type | Who it applies to | Policy/guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Vacation | Regular staff employees (per definitions) |
|
| Sick Time | Eligibility and accrual vary by employee type | |
| Miscellaneous Authorized Absences | As defined by policy (with and without pay) | AGM 2.1.8: Miscellaneous Authorized Absences |
| Paid Holidays | Eligible employees per policy | AGM 2.1.13: Paid Holidays (eligibility, working on a holiday, holidays during leave) |
Reporting absences
Absences, like vacation or PTO, are managed separately from time entries in Sequoia. For planned time off employees should request time off as it is anticipated, and managers will be prompted to approve the absence.
For unplanned time off, such as sick time, employees should record the absence as soon as possible after the absence occurs, as needed, or their manager should enter the absence on their behalf.
Absences, with the exception of holiday pay, must be edited or deleted in the Absence module. They cannot be modified on the time card.
Specific guidance by employment category is as follows:
| Employment category | Absence guidance (time away) |
|---|---|
| Exempt employees | Exempt salaried employees should enter absences in full or half-day increments, with the exception of sick, which can be entered in any increment. |
| Non-exempt employees | Absence hours taken must also be recorded; entries will appear as view-only on the time card, with the exception of paid holidays which can be edited on the time card. |
Viewing absence balances
Sequoia allows employees to view their current absence balances, including vacation, sick time, and personal time off. These balances reflect accrued leave that employees have earned and used, assisting in planning time away from work. Employees will see current balances when adding new absences and will receive a warning if the request exceeds available leave.
Learn more on time and absence entry on the Sequoia System page.
When managers are away from the office, they can use delegation to allow another authorized employee to act upon their behalf to approve other employee time cards and absences using Sequoia. When responsibility is delegated, that person receives Workflow approval requests that the original manager would normally receive and has the same access to approve and reject.
Note: Approval Workflows in progress at time of delegation will remain with the manager who originally received the request.
See How To Manage Time Card and Absence Approval Delegations for instructions.