Employers Must Keep Accurate Records

By law, employers must maintain a record of time worked for each employee. If accurate records are not kept, it could lead to an investigation of wage violations.

Columbus employment attorneys regularly investigate wage and hour claims. There may be a path to justice and compensation. For example, if a company is not maintaining accurate time records, it could be an indicator of a worker being misclassified and then denied their legal overtime pay. Each situation is unique, a lawyer can help you strategize your best path forward.

Time Off Needs to be Documented Correctly

When employers do not keep accurate records, they may do things like encourage employees to leave early without using paid time off (PTO) and then later require them to stay late without recording the time. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) it is essential that accurate records of when an employee is working or not working are kept.

There are ways to manage schedules that shift, but they must be documented clearly. This means if you normally work 38 hours a week and your schedule has adjusted to have you leaving an hour early twice a week, you need to be documented as working 36 hours per week. Those other two hours can be recorded as time off, either free time off (FTO) or PTO. If you are using PTO time, this needs to be clear from the onset as PTO time is typically accrued and there is not an unlimited amount at an employee’s disposal.

It is common for a professional from the human resources department to notice when records are not kept properly. After all, individuals who work in HR should have a solid understanding of the FLSA. When violations occur, the Department of Labor could become involved.

The items an employer should include in their employee records include the following:

• Full name of employee
• An employee’s social security number and address
• The time and day when a workweek begins and the hours worked within each workweek
• What the hourly pay rate is for each employee
• How employees are paid and what additions and deductions are implemented
• Date when an employee is paid and what pay period is being compensated for within the payment

Employers Who Do Not Keep Records

When an employer simply decides not to record work hours appropriately, they are doing so at their own peril. It is illegal for a company to not keep time reports or to have employee time records that are incomplete or inaccurate. Time clocks can’t always be relied on either. There are times when employees are required to work off premises, for example. That time needs to be recorded even if they were not at the location where the time clock is and did not clock in.

Has your Ohio employer been keeping inaccurate time records? Contact the lawyers at Coffman Legal LLC today. We are strong and committed advocates for all Ohio workers and use our experience and knowledge to help you. Call 614-949-1181 for a free and confidential consultation.