Our team of experts fields real-life everyday questions from HR managers and gives practical answers that can be applied by any HR pro in the same situation. Today’s question: What does the Fair Labor Standards Act say about rounding hours up or down?
Question:
We just made the switch to an electronic timekeeping system for our nonexempt staff, and we’ll be rounding off hours worked, for pay purposes. Is there a rule about how to go about doing that?
Answer:
There is a rule, and it’s a bit complicated, says employment-law attorney Molly DiBianca.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, you’re allowed to round off workers hours as long as the rounding doesn’t always favor the employer. In other words, over the course of time, the rounding should average out.
Specifically, the FLSA permits rounding employees’ “starting and stopping times to the nearest five minutes, or to the nearest one-tenth or quarter of an hour.”
A suggested approach: Round up and down based on a set increment. So, for instance, if a worker reports in at 8:38, start pay at 8:45. But if a worker comes on at 8:37, start pay at 8:30.
