We know a few employees get sloppy with their time sheets and may sometimes underreport their hours. But we require them to be as accurate as possible. Will that protect us from liability?
Quick Answer
No. Under federal law, employees must be paid for all hours they are allowed to work. If you know or have reason to know that employees are underreporting hours, you are still required to pay them for all hours worked.
Legal Perspective
Shulman Rogers
Potomac, Maryland
Probably not, especially if you are aware the submitted records are incorrect, says attorney Meredith Campbell (mcampbell@shulmanrogers.com).
In cases where employees have sued to try to collect unpaid overtime, courts have said employers have little defense when they knew or had reason to know the employees worked overtime and weren’t paid for it. Employers can address this with a clear policy requiring:
- Accurate time records
- Training for supervisors and employees on the obligation to submit accurate time records, and
- Rejecting inaccurate records and requiring resubmission of corrected time sheets.
Relevant Case Law
Brown v. Family Dollar Stores of Indiana, LP
Craig v. Bridges Bros. Trucking LLC
West v. General Motors Corp.
HR Insight
Coastal Plain Area E.O.A. Inc.
Valdosta, Georgia
Handle it by using automated time tracking software versus paper timesheets, automate clock-in and clock-out procedures, and build a healthy break culture that is effectively managed through scheduling and tracking solutions, advises Benefits Specialist William Kielma. Establish clear and specific time and attendance policies and ensure that they are communicated well to the staff.
Forrest Health
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Discuss the timecard policy again with the employee, says Employee Relations Manager Beverly Ellzey. Stress to the hourly employee that it is not only company policy in play here. Federal law requires us to pay them for every minute they work. Therefore they must be sure to sign in and out for every minute they are working on the job.
Country Club Mortgage
Visalia, California
If you know employees have underreported their hours, you should practice due diligence and speak to them to have them correct their timecard and give you an accurate account of their actual worked hours, according to HR Generalist Sherry Carson. And then pay them for it.
If made aware after the fact, pay them the difference right away. A warning of their responsibility to turn in accurate timecards should be done, and ongoing or grossly repeated violations should require write-ups and appropriate discipline per your policies.
Key Takeaways
- Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must pay employees for all hours they allow them to work.
- Employers who know their employees are underreporting hours must pay those employees for the unreported hours.
- Time spent doing work that is not requested, but is allowed, is generally hours worked that must be paid.
- Have a clear policy absolutely requiring employees to submit fully accurate time sheets.
- Train supervisors on the importance of accurate time records and require them to accurately track time worked by employees.
- Strictly prohibit off-the-clock work.
- Discipline employees who violate policy relating to the accurate recording of hours worked.
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