Working at DTS Basics

Municipal Civil Service

The Municipal Civil Service (MCS) rules govern the process for employee hiring, promotions, lateral transfers, reduction-in-force, disciplinary actions, and appeals. If any supplemental information included here conflicts with the official MCS rules, those rules take precedence.

Work Schedule

Official City of Austin holiday schedule

All Austin Transportation Department employees are required to work 8.5 hours/day. That includes a mandatory 30-minute lunch. You can take a longer lunch but can’t count it as work time. You can work through lunch but still need to put in 8.5 hours.

Your start time can range between 8am and 9:30am. We ask that you work the same schedule consistently and post your daily stand-up when you log on.

When meetings get scheduled outside your regular work hours, you’re expected to attend them. Let your team lead know in advance when you cannot attend a meeting that requires your attendance.

Flexing Hours

You can occasionally flex your hours to accommodate doctor appointments, errands, etc.; give your team lead a heads-up in advance. We understand that unexpected absences can come up.

“Non-exempt,” aka "hourly" employees, can flex hours within a single work week (Sunday-Saturday), so long as you reach 40 total hours. "Exempt" employees can flex hours across the two-week pay period, so long as your hours total 80.

Leave Time

If you can’t or don’t want to flex, you can use sick time for doctor appointments and personal time (vacation, personal holiday hours, comp time, etc.) for anything else. You may also use leave without pay (LWP), but LWP requires pre-approval and should be discussed with your supervisor at least two weeks in advance.

Non-exempt employees can earn overtime and comp time, which require advance approval from your supervisor.

If you are a new regular employee, you, unfortunately, can’t use vacation or personal holiday leave during your six-month probation period. If you need to take time off during probation, you have three options: flex hours, use sick time, or take leave without pay.

Regardless of the leave you use, you must submit a leave request in advance through the eTimesheet system (see below).

Timesheets (Needs to be updated for UKG)

You'll have to fill out a paper timesheet during your first two weeks. Your supervisor will help you get one from HR.

​E-Timesheet Training (On-Network)​

• Part 1: eTimekeeping​

• Part 2: Task Orders​

• Part 3: Leave Requests​

• Part 4: Overtime Requests​

• Part 5: Deadlines and Tests

Your timesheet must be submitted in the eTimesheet system every Thursday by 10am.

Learn how to submit your timesheet with the E-Timesheet Training Guide (on-network) and timesheet code reference.