CAN MY EMPLOYER CHANGE MY CLOCK-IN AND CLOCK-OUT RECORDS?
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must keep documented records for employees, including hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek. Employers are free to use any time-keeping method they choose, including time clocks, automated systems, written time sheets, or another form of record.
Because of the oversight and management of time records by employers, have you ever found yourself wondering… “Can my employer manually change my time clock hours without my consent?”
Although there are some situations where changing time clock hours is allowed, most of the cases we see involve employers NOT following the law correctly and changing hours illegally.
When Can My Employer Change My Hours?
- If you forget or neglect to clock in and/or out
- If you forget or neglect to clock in and/or clock out when taking a break longer than 30 minutes
- If you accidentally double-punched in and/or out
When Can’t My Employer Change My Hours?
- Reducing your hours on a time card as punishment
- Erasing overtime hours
- Clocking you out for a break or lunch you did not take
Tips from Wage & Hour Expert, Attorney Scott Perlmuter
Transcript: Hey, everybody! Scott Perlmuter here today with Tittle & Perlmuter to talk to you about wage and hour issues regarding minimum wage and overtime pay. It comes up in a lot of our cases, and that is- employers changing clock in and clock out times of their employees. So, a lot of people call us up and ask, “Is my employer allowed to change the times when I punch in and punch out on a timeclock?” Surprisingly, perhaps, the answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no. So, let’s say for instance that you’re supposed to clock out manually at the end of the day and you forget to do so, so it looks like you’re working overnight until you come in the next day. In that situation, or situations that are similar to that, your employer is allowed to change your timeclock records. And same situation would apply if there was sometime during the day that you went on a break that’s longer than 30 minutes and your employer knows that you’re not working, they can change your time records, potentially, under those circumstances. That being said, in just about 100 percent of the cases that we evaluate where employers HAVE changed time records, they did not follow the law in doing so and they did so under circumstances that were illegal. So, if you have questions about your time records and your employers adjustment of your time records, the best thing that you can do is give me a call, 216-208-1522, we’ll talk through your issue and I can let you know whether or not what your employer is doing in your situation complies with the law. Also, if you want information about wage and hour laws generally, and issues about time clock changing, you can visit one of our websites, we have two websites that have information about these issues. One is overtimelawyersohio.com, the other one is our main website, which is tittlelawfirm.com. Thank you very much!
Is Your Employer Violating the Law?
If you think your employer has been changing your time clock records illegally or have any questions about wage and hour issues, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced wage and hour lawyer today.
The attorneys at Tittle & Perlmuter have years of experience fighting for employees that deserve the wages owed to them. Call 216-308-1522 or fill out a contact form for a free consultation today.