New Clock in/out Procedures

Traceyd

I am wanting to implement a new policy that all non-exempt salaried and hourly employees clock in and out for their paid lunch hour. We have never done this before so it will be a hard policy to implement. I was wondering if their is a time period requirement I have to satisfy before this new policy goes into affect? I kinda wanted to begin this effective, July 1st.

As always, your advice is much appreciated!

Sharon McKnight SPHR

I would give them 2-4 weeks advance notice. A couple of questions ...

Do they clock in when they arrive in the morning then clock out when they leave in the evening?
If it's a "paid lunch hour" why do you want to track it?
Is there a concern that down the road an employee will try to collect overtime on those hours?

Sharon

sonny

Sharon,
We were once audited and had to pay back wages as b/c we did not account for people coming and going for their paid lunch. Hence, some were entitled to additional OT.

Traceyd

We have never required any employee to clock in or out for their lunch, unlesss they know they will not be taking a full 1 hour lunch break. Our current "time clock" software program allows for us to indicate a 60 minute lunch break, so it takes that time out when it calculates the daily hours worked. I have been to two different seminars where they have expressed concern about employees not clocking in/out for breaks if they leave the employer's property and are in an accident of some kind. They indicate it is a liability risk to the employer. Any thoughts??

sonny

I agree it has potential to be a liability for the reason you noted as well as mine above. The real solution is to cut the paid lunch!

Traceyd

My employees currently clock in when they report to work and clock out when they leave, but never clock in or out for the lunch break.

Still Need Coffee

I would give them 2-4 weeks notice, along with some sort of communication for why you are making the policy change. I find that communication can be the difference between an unsuccessful policy change and full participation!

I'm curious about the paid lunch for non-exempt workers - a great perk to be sure, but how are you monitoring whether employees are completely relieved of all duties during this time period?

Traceyd

We rotate lunch breaks so every employee is covered during their absence to accomodate a lunch break. The largest percentage of employees leave our property for their lunch hour. Or, if they have lunch in the lunch room they are considered not available during this time.