Comments on: FLSA lawsuits: Where does your state rank?

By: corihr

corihr — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:40:28 +0000

Its how our time clock is automatically set up through our vendor. If John’s shift is to begin at 7am and he clocks in at 6:52 am it pays him an extra 15 minutes. If John is to get off at 3PM and he clocks out at 3:08 it pays him another 15 minutes so it’s not that were not using it correctly. We have employees that were realizing this and coming in early to clock in 8 mins early and then standing around waiting until eight after the end of their shift to get an extra 15 min. Our time clock is automated and feeds into our payroll system which feeds into our HR system, so there is no way it could be used incorrectly. There are no manual inputs except for vacation time.

By: Cynthia S

Cynthia S — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:00:44 +0000

Nita, where can I find the applicable law that states what you have written? Are you in CA as well?

By: DW

DW — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:51:08 +0000

We developed our own internal time clock (we have software developers on staff) that fixed the “hanging out at the time clock” issue to get credit for more time. When our programmer developed it, he set it up to round at the end of the week only. So rather than having a rounding opportunity in the morning, again when punching out for lunch and punching back in from lunch and again at the end of the day (4 times time over 5 days adds up to almost 2.5 hours over the course of the week), the computer time clock keeps accurate punches of all minutes worked between punches. At the end of the week, the total hours worked rounds to the 7 minute rule. We checked with Wage and Hour (federal and state) and were assured that this practice was fine. As long as the rounding favors both the employer and the employee, as Nita states, it’s fine. You might ask Kronos or other system whether the rounding rule can be changed in the system.

By: Kelley M.

Kelley M. — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:21:29 +0000

Of course you need to have a policy in place regarding overtime and enforce it uniformly. Even if there is a policy, you must pay the non-exempt employee the overtime but you can discipline if they don’t follow the policy which can include termination if the policy states this.

By: nita

nita — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:50:59 +0000

There is a 7 minute rule… but it does not sound like your employer is using it correctly.

The rule states that rounding is acceptable as long as it favors both the employer and the employee.

Just as Kelly M states.

Minutes 53-7 are rounded to the whole hour
Minutes 8-22 are rounded to the quarter hour
Minutes 23-37 are are rounded to the half hour
Minutes 38-52 are rounded to the three quarter hour

It really does make doing time cards so much easier than real time in 100th’s.

There is a downfall in using the 7 minute rule. I found that employees stand at the time clock and wait when they are clocking out for that extra minute.

By: CoriHR

CoriHR — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:46:27 +0000

That’s what is confusing to me. We were having employees clocking in 8 minutes early and 8 minutes late clocking out and because of the 15 minute thing the clock does they were being paid a total of an extra half hour for only working 2 extra minutes. I think we rectified that situation by making our attendance bonus policy stricter when it comes to time clock punches.

By: Cynthia S.

Cynthia S. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:03:14 +0000

Thank you HR and Kelley M! I really appreciate your help.

By: Kelley M.

Kelley M. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:54:12 +0000

We use a rounding system on our time clock that refers to the 7 minute rule. The clock rounds to the next 15 minutes if punched after 7 minutes. So for example, employee punches in at 8:07, their time is recorded as 8:00. If they punch at 8:08 the time is recorded as 8:15. This should also be done on the back end when punching out. So if they punch out at 5:08, the time should be recorded at 5:15.

Many companies do this and if you Google 7 minute rule flsa, you should find plenty of opinions.

By: HR ' n

HR ' n — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:49:31 +0000

The clearest answer to your question will be found under CA state Labor Commissioner and rounding practices, as follows:

The state Labor Commissioner uses the U.S. Department of Labor practice of rounding employees’ hours to the nearest five minutes when calculating the number of hours worked.1 However, for enforcement purposes, the Labor Commissioner will accept the practice of computing working time by rounding to the nearest five minutes, or one-tenth or one-quarter of an hour, provided that it is used in such a manner that it will not result in failure to compensate the employees properly for all the time they actually worked over a period of time.

According to the Labor Commissioner, “When auditing payroll records, Division personnel will ascertain the facts regarding the time keeping requirements” (e.g., the true work patterns of the workers and whether the time records accurately reflect these patterns).2 In recording working time, you may disregard insubstantial or insignificant periods of time beyond the scheduled working hours, which cannot be precisely recorded for payroll purposes as a practical administrative matter.3

1. DLSE Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual sec. 47.1 and 47.2

2. DLSE Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual sec. 47.2.2.2; 29 CFR sec. 785.48(b)

3. DLSE Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual sec. 47.2.1 and 47.2.1.1

By: Cynthia S.

Cynthia S. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:38:51 +0000

Oops, should have mentioned we’re in California.