There are many questionable strategies that employers might utilize to avoid overtime pay obligations. Some companies hire workers on a salary basis, pay them as little as possible and then demand that they work overtime every week.
Other times, employers include no-overtime policies in their employee handbooks and then insist that workers cannot claim pay for the time that they worked. Other businesses misclassify workers by identifying them as independent contractors despite treating them like direct-hire employees. They may then refuse to pay overtime wages.
Intentional manipulation of time clock records can also be a way for companies to unfairly avoid overtime pay obligations. If a worker puts in more than 40 hours, someone in a position of authority within the company might adjust time clock records to reduce their billable hours and eliminate overtime pay obligations.
Can employers modify payroll records to avoid overtime obligations?
Adjustments should correct errors, not create them
Sometimes, workers forget to clock in when they start their shifts. Other times, they leave suddenly without clocking out. Their oversights can create major payroll headaches.
Technically, businesses do have the legal right to modify time clock records. They can make any necessary adjustments to ensure that the actual timekeeping system records accurate information. Employers can adjust when workers clock in or out to ensure those times are correct.
In fact, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, businesses can even pay workers in increments bigger than minutes or seconds and can adjust time records to reflect those increments of pay. Employers can use increments as large as 15 minutes when calculating wages for hourly employees.
However, the law requires that employers use a neutral standard for rounding time worked. Consistently rounding down to minimize payroll or avoid overtime is a violation of employees’ wage rights. So are adjustments made not to correct timekeeping records but rather to prevent the employee from qualifying for overtime pay.
Workers dealing with unpaid overtime may need help asserting themselves. If their employers have intentionally manipulated time clock records, litigation may be necessary to secure the wages the workers have already earned. Reviewing work records and recent paychecks with a skilled legal team can help people determine if a wage violation may have occurred. A successful overtime wage lawsuit can help workers get the pay they deserve and can generate consequences for non-compliant businesses.