Payroll & Schedule

Pay Period Structure

Each pay period runs Monday 12:01 AM through Sunday 11:59 PM. Payday is the Friday following the close of each period — a five-day processing window. Example: work performed Monday 8/11/25 through Sunday 8/17/25 is paid Friday 8/22/25. Holiday weeks follow the same schedule unless management says otherwise. If payday falls on a bank holiday, direct deposits process the preceding business day.

Timesheet Submission

Submit your completed timesheet by Sunday at 11:59 PM every week. Record all hours: regular time, overtime, and breaks. Log travel time between job sites as your crew leader instructs. If you waited on Stand-By at a designated start or pickup time, record both a STAND-BY START and a DUTY START line as described in the [Stand-By policy](/payroll-schedule#stand-by-designated-start-pickup-time-what-it-is-when-it-applies) below. Late submissions may delay your pay to the next cycle. Supervisors review and approve by Monday at 5:00 PM. If you spot an error on a previous timesheet, notify your supervisor and the owner immediately. Falsifying time records is grounds for immediate termination.

Direct Deposit & Payment Methods

Direct deposit funds hit by 6:00 AM on payday (Friday). Set up or update through Gusto.com or by contacting the owner. You can split deposits across multiple accounts. Bank processing varies — contact your bank if funds are not available by midday. Paper checks are available with 24 hours advance notice. Pay stubs, W-2s, and earnings history are on the Gusto employee portal anytime.

Overtime Policy

All field crew members are non-exempt and earn overtime at 1.5x your regular rate. Two separate overtime triggers apply depending on your rank.

Weekly overtime (all ranks): Every hour you work beyond 40 in a workweek is paid at 1.5x — no exceptions, no rank difference.

Per-shift overtime (rank-based): A single long shift only triggers overtime pay if you have already hit your rank's minimum weekly hours for that week. Until you reach that floor, long individual shifts are paid at your regular rate.

- Trainee: per-shift overtime applies only after you have worked at least 20 hours that week. - Crew Member & Crew Lead: per-shift overtime applies only after you have worked at least 30 hours that week.

Once your weekly minimum is met, any shift that runs beyond 8 hours triggers 1.5x pay for those extra hours.

Get overtime pre-approved by your crew leader or supervisor when possible. During peak season, overtime is common and distributed fairly across the crew. Record every overtime hour accurately — do not underreport. Questions go to the owner.

Overtime Quick Reference by Rank

Stand-Down Rate (Second Pay Rate) & Wage Notice

The company has exactly one pay rate other than your regular rate — the Stand-By / Stand-Down Rate, set at $12.00 per hour as an owner-selected company rate. It is used for two different statuses that share the one number:

- Stand-Down — disciplinary. Paid for time you are stood down on site by a Crew Lead or the Owner under the Time-Out policy on the [Points & Accountability](/points-accountability) page. - Stand-By — not disciplinary. Paid for scheduled waiting from a designated start or pickup time you acknowledged until you are actually started for duty. The full rules are in the Stand-By sections directly below.

You will be told in writing first. Minnesota's Wage Theft Prevention Act (Minn. Stat. § 181.032(d)–(f)) requires this rate — and both statuses it applies to — to appear on the written wage notice you receive at hire, and every current employee must receive and sign a written notice of it before it is ever applied to them. Until your signed notice is on file, any stood-down or Stand-By time is paid at your regular rate.

How it shows on your pay stub. Stand-Down hours and Stand-By hours each appear as their own line with their own rate (Minn. Stat. § 181.032(a)) under separate earnings codes. The rate only ever applies from the minute the status begins forward — never to hours already worked — and those hours still count toward the 40-hour overtime threshold, with the overtime premium figured on the weighted-average rate across both rates. Questions about a Stand-Down or Stand-By line on your stub go to the Owner directly.

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — What It Is & When It Applies

The plain version. When the Owner or a Crew Lead sets a start time or a pickup time, you are scheduled for it, and you have acknowledged it, you clock in at that designated time — even if nobody has handed you a tool yet. From that minute until the Crew Lead or Owner actually starts you on duty, you are on Stand-By and paid at the Stand-By Rate ($12.00/hour). The moment you are started for duty, your regular rate takes over for the rest of the shift.

Why this exists. Waiting at the shop or a pickup point for the truck, the Crew Lead, or the go-ahead is time the company controls. The law calls it "engaged to wait" (29 CFR § 785.15; Minn. R. 5200.0120 subp. 1) — it is hours worked, it is paid, and it counts toward overtime. It just is not productive work yet, so it is paid at the company's published second rate rather than your regular rate.

This is not discipline. Stand-By is a neutral pay status. It goes on no ledger, it needs no warning, and it says nothing about you. It shares one rate with the disciplinary Stand-Down on the [Points & Accountability](/points-accountability) page — the same number, two completely different reasons — and the company has no other non-regular rate. The next section lays the two side by side.

Three things have to be true. (1) The Owner or a Crew Lead designated the time. (2) You were scheduled for it. (3) You acknowledged it (next section). Without all three, the designated time does not start the clock by itself — but any time you actually spend waiting at the company's direction is still paid Stand-By from the moment the Crew Lead or Owner knows you are there (see the acknowledgment section).

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — Stand-By vs Stand-Down: Same Thing, Different Reason

They are the same mechanism. Stand-By and Stand-Down are both paid waiting: you are on the clock, you are not working, and the company owes you for the time because the company controls it (29 CFR § 785.15; Minn. R. 5200.0120). Both pay the same published Stand-By / Stand-Down Rate of $12.00/hour, both count toward the 40-hour week, both blend into the weighted-average overtime rate, and neither ever touches an hour you already worked. The company has exactly one non-regular rate, and these two statuses share it.

What is different is the reason — and the connotation.

- Stand-By is about the company. The Owner or Crew Lead set a start or pickup time and you showed up for it. If the truck, the Lead, or the go-ahead is late, that is the company failing to use *your* time properly, and Stand-By is how the company pays for that gap. It is neutral. It says nothing about you, goes on no ledger, and needs no warning.

- Stand-Down is about you. You were working, you were warned, and you kept doing the thing — so the Crew Lead pulled you off tools. The paid wait is the consequence of not adhering to policy. It is disciplinary: it carries a stated reason, a Discipline Ledger entry, and a Re-Entry Comprehension Check the Crew Lead reviews before deciding whether to put you back to work.

Same rate, same protections, same rules on the clock. Only three things change: who triggered it, why, and what goes on your record. Read the other side here: [Stand-Down policy](/points-accountability#time-out-stand-down-what-it-is-who-can-call-it).

Stand-By vs Stand-Down — Side by Side

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — Acknowledging a Designated Time

What counts as acknowledged: a reply to the schedule or group text naming that time, or confirming it in person or by phone with the Crew Lead or Owner. A thumbs-up on the group text naming the time counts. Reading it and saying nothing does not.

Unacknowledged does not mean unpaid. Acknowledgment decides whether the designated time itself starts your Stand-By. If you never acknowledged the time but still show up and wait where you were told, you are still waiting under the company's control and that time is still paid (29 CFR § 785.15) — your Stand-By starts the minute you are present and the Crew Lead or Owner knows you are there (say so in person, or send a text). What acknowledgment changes is the late-Lead case: with an acknowledgment on record you are owed Stand-By from the designated time even if nobody has arrived yet; without one, it runs from the moment the company knows you are waiting. Acknowledge the schedule when it comes out and this never becomes a question.

Changed times. If the time is moved, the new time needs its own acknowledgment. Until you acknowledge the new one, the last time you acknowledged is the one that counts — so read the group text before you head out.

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — Being There: Late Crew, Late Lead

Stand-By starts only when you are actually present and ready at the designated place — shop, yard, pickup corner, or first job site — in uniform and fit to work. It is not a clock you can start from your driveway.

You arrive late. Your Stand-By starts on arrival, not at the designated time. The late arrival still counts under Attendance Expectations on the [Attendance & Leave](/attendance) page; Stand-By does not erase it.

The Crew Lead or Owner is late. You were where you were told to be, when you were told to be there. You are owed the full Stand-By time from the designated time until you are started for duty, at the Stand-By Rate. The Crew Lead's lateness is the Crew Lead's problem, never yours.

Nobody shows and nobody calls. After 1 hr of Stand-By with no start and no word, call the Owner directly. The Owner must then either start the crew for duty or release you for the day — Stand-By does not run indefinitely (see the cancellation section).

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — What Ends Stand-By

Being started for duty ends it. "Started for duty" means the Crew Lead or Owner tells you to begin — and it also means any work at all. If you are asked to load the truck, fuel equipment, hook a trailer, prep or sharpen anything, grab parts, or ride out to the first site, that is regular-rate work and Stand-By ended the minute you began it. A Crew Lead cannot have you loading at the Stand-By Rate.

Release ends it. If the day is cancelled or you are sent home before being started, Stand-By ends at the moment you are told (see the cancellation section).

The 1 hr decision point. Stand-By is capped at 1 hr before the Owner must decide: start the crew for duty (regular rate from that minute) or release the crew for the day (Stand-By paid up to the release). A Crew Lead who is holding the crew past 1 hr while waiting on the Owner should get that decision by phone rather than let the wait keep running.

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — Conduct While on Stand-By

Stand-By is on-duty time. You are being paid to be available, so:

- Stay at the meeting point. No personal errands, coffee runs, or trips home while on Stand-By. If you leave the designated place, Stand-By stops until you are back and the Crew Lead or Owner knows it. - All conduct rules apply — uniform, substances, customer contact, no filming on a client's property, the Code of Conduct. Being on Stand-By at a job site is being at work. - Phone use is fine. You are waiting, not working. Use the time however you like as long as you are present, ready, and reachable. - Be ready to go. When the Crew Lead says "let's roll," that is your duty start. Being on Stand-By does not mean a second warm-up period.

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — Recording It on Your Timesheet

Two lines, every time Stand-By happens:

1. STAND-BY START — the designated time (or your actual arrival, if later). Example: "STAND-BY START 6:30 AM". 2. DUTY START — the minute you were started for duty. Example: "DUTY START 7:10 AM".

The time between them is Stand-By at the Stand-By Rate; everything after DUTY START is regular rate. If there was no wait, write nothing extra — your normal clock-in is your duty start.

Who confirms it. The Crew Lead confirms both times on the crew's timesheets before the Sunday deadline on the [Timesheet Submission](/payroll-schedule#timesheet-submission) rules; if the Crew Lead is the one who was late, the Owner confirms instead. Stand-By hours show as their own line on your pay stub with their own rate (Minn. Stat. § 181.032(a)) under the STAND-BY earnings code — separate from any STAND-DOWN line. If a Stand-By line on your stub looks wrong, tell the Owner directly, the same as any other pay question.

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — If the Day Is Cancelled While You Wait

Stand-By is paid up to the cancellation notice. If you were on Stand-By and the day is called off — weather, truck down, client cancellation — you are paid at the Stand-By Rate from your Stand-By start until the minute you are told you are released. Nothing after that is paid; nothing before it is lost.

Released means released. Once the Owner or Crew Lead tells you the day is cancelled and you are free to go, you are off the clock and free to use the time as your own (29 CFR § 785.16). If you are instead told to keep waiting for a decision, you are still on Stand-By.

Weather holds. Rain-delay holds at the shop are governed by the [Weather-Related Schedule Adjustments](/attendance#weather-related-schedule-adjustments) section on the Attendance & Leave page. Whether and how this Stand-By policy applies to a weather hold is a separate decision the Owner has not yet published — until it is, follow the weather section as written. Weather cancellations never count against your attendance record.

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — Worked Pay Example

A Crew Member paid $20.00/hour is told on the group text: "Pickup at the shop, 6:30 AM Tuesday." They reply "👍 6:30 AM" — acknowledged. Tuesday they are at the shop, in uniform, at 6:30 AM. The truck is late; the Crew Lead pulls in and starts them loading at 7:10 AM. The crew works a normal day and finishes at 4:10 PM.

Timesheet: STAND-BY START 6:30 AM · DUTY START 7:10 AM · out 4:10 PM.

The day: 40 min on Stand-By = 0.67 hours × $12.00 = $8.00. Then 9 hours × $20.00 = $180.00. Day total $188.00 for 9.67 paid hours (the same day at full rate would be $193.33 — a difference of $5.33).

The week, if it runs long: say the week totals 42 paid hours — 41.33 regular + 0.67 Stand-By. Straight-time pay is $834.67. The weighted regular rate is $834.67 ÷ 42 = $19.87. The overtime premium is 2 hours × 0.5 × $19.87 = $19.87. Week total $854.54. Stand-By hours count toward the 40 like any other hours; they just enter the blend at the Stand-By Rate (29 CFR § 778.115).

Worked Stand-By Example — $20.00/hr Crew Member, 6:30 AM Pickup, Started 7:10 AM

Stand-By — Parameter Summary (owner-tunable)

Stand-By (Designated Start / Pickup Time) — Legal Compliance (MN / FLSA)

Stand-By uses the same second-rate framework as the Stand-Down policy, and the same guardrails apply to both. Have this section reviewed by employment counsel together with the Stand-Down sections before the first Stand-By minute is paid.

It is hours worked. Time spent waiting at the employer's direction until work is available is compensable under 29 CFR § 785.15 and Minn. R. 5200.0120 subp. 1. That is why Stand-By is paid and counts toward overtime.

A second rate is lawful with notice. 29 CFR § 778.115 and § 778.419 permit different rates for different work or status, as long as every hour meets the minimum wage and overtime is figured on the weighted average. The Stand-By / Stand-Down Rate is set at the Owner-selected company rate, so no Stand-By hour falls below the floor.

Written notice before first use. Minn. Stat. § 181.032(d)–(f): the rate — and the fact that it applies to both Stand-By and Stand-Down — must be on every new hire's wage notice, and every current employee must receive and sign a written notice before it is applied to them even once. No signed notice on file means Stand-By time is paid at your regular rate.

Prospective only, never clawed back. The rate applies from the Stand-By start forward and never re-rates hours already worked (Minn. Stat. § 181.79).

Itemized on the stub. Stand-By hours and rate are their own line (Minn. Stat. § 181.032(a)) under the STAND-BY earnings code, which payroll (Gusto) must have before use.

Policy status. Company policy, not a contract; does not change at-will employment. Pay-affecting changes are prospective only and require signed written notice.

Payroll Advance

A payroll advance lets you receive part of your earned wages before the regular Friday payday. Advances are a one-time accommodation — not a standard benefit or entitlement — and are subject to Owner approval.

Eligibility Window You may request an advance as soon as you are done working for the current pay period — you no longer have to wait for the period to close. There are two paths, and you must choose one:

1. Early same-period request: If you have finished all your work for the current pay period, you may request the advance right away. The trade-off is firm — there are no double payrolls, so if you take the advance early, you take the rest of the pay period off. No further hours may be worked in that period once the advance is taken. 2. Post-close request: Wait until the pay period fully ends (Sunday close), then request normally. For this path, the advance window closes Thursday — the day before payday — giving a maximum lead time of 4 days (Monday through Thursday). Advances are not available on Friday (payday) since your regular paycheck processes that day.

Either way, your hours for the period must be final and complete at the time of the request — an advance is calculated on wages already earned, never on hours you might still work.

How It Works Advances are issued as off-cycle cash disbursements. They are NOT processed through Gusto or direct deposit. You may advance up to 80% of your gross earned wages for the completed pay period. The remaining 20% is held as a retainer so taxes and deductions can be processed normally at the scheduled payday.

The administrative fee is deducted directly from the advance amount before you receive cash. The advance is not a loan against future pay — it is drawn from and settled within the same pay period's paycheck. At normal payday, payroll runs only on the remaining 20% retainer; taxes are calculated on that amount and you receive whatever net remains after deductions.

Worked Example — $330 Gross Pay Week (First Request) - Gross pay: $330.00 - Maximum advance (80%): $264.00 - Administrative fee (20% of $264): −$52.80 - Cash in hand at advance: $211.20 - Retainer processed at normal payday: $66.00 (taxes calculated on this amount — you receive net after deductions)

Back-to-Back Scenario — Same $330 Gross Pay (30% Fee) - Maximum advance (80%): $264.00 - Administrative fee (30% of $264): −$79.20 - Cash in hand at advance: $184.80 - Retainer processed at normal payday: $66.00 (same as above)

How to Request Contact the Owner directly — in person or by phone — before submitting anything. No one else can authorize an advance. The Owner is the sole approval authority and may decline any request at their discretion. Once the Owner has verbally confirmed eligibility, submit your formal request through the [Advance Request form in the CRM employee portal](https://collinspropertymaintenancellc.com/employee/payroll-advance). Submission through the portal is required — verbal requests alone are not sufficient to initiate disbursement.

Repeat-Request Rules Only one advance is permitted per pay period. If you request an advance in two consecutive pay periods (back-to-back), the fee increases to 30% of the advance amount instead of 20%, and remains subject to Owner approval.

Payroll Advance — Quick Reference

Understanding Your Paycheck — Start Here

If this is your first job, your first paycheck can be a surprise: the amount that lands in your account is less than your hourly rate times the hours you worked. That is normal, it is legal, and it happens to every working person in the country. This section explains exactly why.

By the time you finish reading, you should understand three things:

1. The difference between gross pay (what you earn) and net pay (what you take home).

2. What each deduction on your pay stub is, and why it is taken out.

3. Why the company is legally required to withhold these amounts and send them to the government on your behalf.

This is the same foundation a well-run company gives every new hire. Once you understand it here, you will understand your paycheck at any job you ever hold.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Gross vs. Net Pay

Gross pay is the full amount you earn before anything is taken out. It is your hourly rate multiplied by the hours you worked (plus any overtime). If you earn $20.00 per hour and work 40 hours, your gross pay is $800.00.

Net pay — also called take-home pay — is what is left after required taxes and deductions are subtracted. Net pay is the number that actually shows up in your bank account on payday.

The flow from one to the other is always the same:

Gross earnings → mandatory deductions → net (take-home) pay.

The gap between gross and net is not money the company keeps. It is withheld from your check and sent to the government on your behalf. The next subsections explain each piece that comes out.

Understanding Your Paycheck — What Gets Deducted

Four standard deductions come out of nearly every paycheck. Here is what each one is.

Federal income tax withholding — Money set aside toward the federal income tax you owe for the year. How much is withheld depends on what you reported on your Form W-4 (filing status, dependents, and any extra withholding you requested). Withholding is essentially a pay-as-you-go down payment on your annual tax bill. When you file your tax return, you settle up — you may get a refund if too much was withheld, or owe more if too little was.

Minnesota state income tax withholding — The same idea as federal, but for the State of Minnesota. Minnesota collects a state income tax, and a portion is withheld from each check toward what you owe the state for the year.

Social Security (6.2%) — A flat 6.2% of your gross pay funds the federal Social Security program, which pays retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. On $800.00 of gross pay, that is $49.60.

Medicare (1.45%) — A flat 1.45% of your gross pay funds Medicare, the federal health-insurance program for people 65 and older and certain people with disabilities. On $800.00 of gross pay, that is $11.60.

Social Security and Medicare are taken together under a single law and are jointly called FICA (the Federal Insurance Contributions Act). When you see "FICA" on a pay stub, it means your combined Social Security and Medicare deductions.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Why the Company Withholds

The company does not choose to take this money, and it does not keep any of it. Federal and state law require every employer to withhold income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare from your pay and remit (send) those amounts to the IRS and the State of Minnesota on your behalf. Your pay stub is the record of that happening.

Think of the company as a middleman the government requires: it collects the required amounts from your check and forwards them to the right agency on schedule. Failing to do this correctly is against the law for the employer, which is why it is handled carefully and consistently for everyone.

There is one more piece most new employees do not realize: the company also pays its own matching share of Social Security and Medicare. For every dollar of Social Security and Medicare withheld from your check, the company pays an equal amount out of its own pocket — that is an additional 6.2% and 1.45% the business contributes on top of your wages. So these programs are funded by both you and your employer together.

What your taxes fund, in plain terms: Social Security and Medicare pay for retirement, disability, survivor, and senior health benefits — including, eventually, your own. Federal and state income taxes pay for public services like roads, schools, emergency services, parks, and the courts. The point here is simply to show where the money goes, not to take any position on it.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Sample Paycheck Breakdown

Here is a realistic weekly example that walks from gross pay all the way down to take-home pay. The example uses $20.00 per hour for 40 hours.

The Social Security and Medicare lines are exact (6.2% and 1.45% of gross). The federal and state income-tax lines are realistic estimates only — your actual withholding depends on your W-4 elections, your pay rate, and your hours. Notice that gross pay minus every deduction equals net pay.

Sample Weekly Paycheck — $20.00/hr × 40 hrs

Understanding Your Paycheck — Where to See Your Own Numbers

Every paycheck comes with a pay stub that lists your own gross pay, each deduction, and your net pay — line by line, just like the example above. You can view and download your pay stubs anytime through the Gusto employee portal at gusto.com. Your annual W-2 form, which summarizes a full year of earnings and withholding for tax filing, is also available in Gusto.

If a number on your stub does not look right, or you have a question about your pay, contact the owner directly.

Two things to keep current so your pay and taxes are handled correctly: your W-4 (your withholding elections — update it in Gusto if your situation changes, such as marriage or a new dependent) and your direct-deposit bank information. Keeping both up to date prevents pay delays and surprises at tax time.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Key Terms Glossary

Gross pay — Your total earnings before any taxes or deductions are taken out.

Net pay — Your take-home pay; what is left after all deductions. This is what lands in your bank account.

Withholding — Money your employer holds back from your check and sends to the government toward the taxes you owe.

Deduction — Any amount subtracted from your gross pay (for example, taxes).

FICA — The Federal Insurance Contributions Act; the law behind your combined Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) deductions.

W-4 — The form you fill out telling your employer how much federal income tax to withhold, based on your filing status and dependents.

W-2 — The year-end form your employer gives you summarizing your total wages and the taxes withheld, used to file your tax return.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Important Disclaimer

This section is here to help you understand how a paycheck works in general. It is education, not advice about your specific situation.