As a new hire, your designated HR Generalist is working to complete your new hire processing. This includes entering your information into the Human Resource Information System (HRIS), which generates a personalized Employee Identification Number (EIN). The State Division of Technology Services (DTS) establishes your UtahID and ESS access, and requires your EIN and your employment record to be in active status to complete the process. 

Emails to Expect from Your HR Generalist

1. New Hire Payroll & Training: Email informing new hires of account setup and confirmation to log into the ESS and UtahID systems. This email will contain the following information. 

• Your EIN

• Login Instructions

• Link to the UtahID  

• Reminder to set up Direct Deposit

2. Benefitted/Non-Benefited Email

Policies and procedures for ESS time entry and approval are based on the employee job’s designation as “non-exempt” or “exempt” from overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

How do I know if my job is non-exempt or exempt?

The vast majority of Courts employees are in non-exempt jobs. You can verify your job’s FLSA status designation by viewing your official job description. Find the “FLSA Status” field on the job description and you will see either “Non-Exempt” or “Exempt.” Your supervisor is another good source to ask, and you can always Contact HR to be sure.

Most jobs designated as exempt tend to be managerial; or jobs with a very broad scope of responsibility, relatively independent decision-making authority and/or minimal direct supervision. 

What other differences exist between FLSA Non-Exempt and Exempt? 

Employees in non-exempt jobs are eligible to receive overtime pay or accrue comp leave for working more than 40 hours in a week. They earn an hourly wage for time worked or leave time taken. 

Employees in exempt jobs are not eligible to receive overtime pay nor to accrue comp leave for working more than 40 hours in a week. They receive a set salary, paid every other week, for the work they perform.

Non-exempt or hourly employees are required to enter all hours worked and/or non-holiday leave taken for every pay period in accordance with the Courts Accounting Manual 01-02. The time entry should be completed no later than a business day following the last day of the pay period.

Example 1: An hourly employee works eight hours every business day during a pay period when the President’s Day holiday occurs. The hourly employee should enter 8 hours of work on each day, EXCEPT: no hours should be entered on the holiday. The payroll system will automatically calculate the amount of holiday hours.

Example 2: An hourly employee works their regular schedule of eight hours per day until a family vacation that is scheduled to begin on Wednesday of the second week of the pay period. The hourly employee should enter 8 hours of work for each day worked and 8 hours of annual leave for the three vacation days.

Exempt or salaried employees have very different requirements. The state's payroll system is programmed to automatically pay a salaried employee for 80 hours in a pay period (8 hours work for each business day, and 8 hours holiday for any state holiday). It is programmed to allow exceptions only for days that any amount of work or leave is entered by the salaried employee. 

A salaried employee should not enter work time in the ESS system UNLESS it is combined with leave used on the same business day. When recording ANY amount of leave on a business day, a salaried employee should ensure the record of hours for that day totals exactly 8 hours in ESS - nothing more or less than a total of 8 hours on a business day. A salaried employee should not enter work or leave time on any non-business day, including holidays.

Example 1: A salaried employee works until noon on Wednesday and then leaves work for the day for a doctor’s appointment and other healthcare reasons. In ESS, the salaried employee should record 4 hours work and 4 hours of leave to total 8 hours.

Example 2: A salaried employee takes a few days off sick and ends up working a couple of hours on the day they start feeling better. The sick days should be recorded as 8 hours of sick leave for each day. On the date of return, the salaried employee should record 6 hours of sick leave and 2 hours of work to total 8 hours.

EXCEPTION: Time-Limited Law Clerk Attorneys who do not accrue traditional leave should enter 8 hours of administrative leave on state holidays.

Log in to the ESS system here. You'll be required to authenticate through your UtahID account using your court email address or your EIN and your ESS password (consider bookmarking the ESS link in your browser for easy access). 

**If you are unable to access the ESS website, please check your cookies and pop-ups settings in Google Chrome by following this tutorial.**

To review, save, and print current and previous Pay Statements, please visit the following Review/Print Pay Statement directions.