Pay for time punched in but not working

FU · October 2003

Employees often punch in prior to the start of the work shift. They do not commence actually working until the shift begins (i.e., ee punches in at 6:45am, reads newspaper for 15 minutes, then commences work at 7:00am - the start of the shift). Are there any requirements or restrictions regarding paying employees for that time for which they are punched in but not actually working?

LindaS · October 2003

In speaking with a DOL investigator regarding this scenario he advised that the practice of allowing an EE to punch in early is NOT a good idea. The reasoning is that it's quite possible that, at some time, you will have a disgruntled EE who may file a claim with DOL regarding unpaid wages. The EE will state that he was "forced" to work ALL the hours he was punched in but you refused to pay him. A DOL investigator will come in and interview other EEs who will also se $$ and verify that yes, you the big, bad employer forced these poor EEs to work without paying them. See the picture....

The recommendation he used was to use the "7-minute rule" and not allow EEs to punch in any earlier than 7 minutes before the start of the shift and roll the clock up to the next hour.

Hatchetman · October 2003

The genral approahc under FLSA that DOL seems to take is that rounding is a reality. So, you round to the nearest pay unit. If you pay in quarter hour increments then the 7 minute (7.5 minutes) makes sense. The real test comes of course the other way, too. If the employee actually works over the 7.5 minutes, then that would have to be paid. As long as the rounding up and the rounding down seem to equal out over the long haul there should be no problem.

santire · October 2003

The advice about rounding up or down is excellent. The DOL will presume that the employee is working and put an almost impossible burden on you to show otherwise. The best approach is to pay based on the appropriate rounding up or down. This does not, however, remove your right to discipline the employee. You can write the employee up for not working during clocked time. You can also tell the employee to go home early and thereby lose time at the other end of the clock.

Tish · October 2003

When I first started with our company they went through the same thing. We had an EE terminated, he came back at us when he lost his unemployment claim. His basis was that he had time that hadn't been paid.

The company is manufacturing and had a practice of allowing employees to punch in early, sit around etc before starting. When I started I recommended stoping this practice due to the burden of proof if challenged. Didn't happen till the ex EE raised an issue.

Needless to say the policy was changed - can't punched in any sooner than 6 minutes to shift start, if it occurs it is addressed immediately.

My feelings on this - better safe than sorry. Good Luck.

safety · October 2003

At our manufacturing facility we had the usual early punchers. What we did was create a form stating our policy of paying for all time worked in accordance with the FLSA. The form also stated that unless an ee was asked to come in early or stay late they would be paid for all hours that were scheduled and actually worked. Each ee signed off on this form and any violations of our policy are dealt with progressively.

HRQ · October 2003

I checked your profile, but it's disabled.

I'm hoping your screen name stands for Freddie or Fannie Underwood or something like that...

Pay for time punched in but not working

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