Is It Illegal For An Employer To Change Time Cards

Payday is coming up, and you're in the process of reviewing your employees' timecards. You notice what seems to exist an mistake on one of the records. Yous make up one's mind to change the timecard information to reflect what yous believe it should be.

Simply are you lot legally allowed to modify employees' timecard information?

Short answer: While you can legally alter employees' timecard information, there are some critical exceptions to consider.

What federal police force says nigh irresolute employees' timecards

Employers can change employees' timecards — then long every bit the adjustment correctly depicts the hours that the employees actually worked.

The Fair Labor Standards Human activity (FLSA) requires employers to keep specific records for each nonexempt employee — including total hours worked each workday and each workweek. The employer is responsible for not just maintaining records of employees' hours worked, but also paying all hours worked. Therefore, employers tin can change employees' timecards — and so long as the adjustment correctly depicts the hours that the employees really worked.

As the employee's boss, you're responsible for reviewing their submitted weekly timecard. You should ensure that the data is correct before approving and sending the timecard over to payroll for processing. This is truthful, regardless of whether you use a paper timekeeping arrangement, an electronic method (such as email), or an automated cloud-based platform.

When tin you change employees' timecards?

Examples of when you tin can edit employees' timecards include the following scenarios.

The employee:

Forgot to put their start or end fourth dimension on their timesheet, or forgot to punch in or out on the timeclock. You can make full in the missing entries or punches.
Failed to clock in or out during their break or lunch menstruum. You lot can fill in the break and luncheon times taken.
Chosen in sick or took vacation time. You can adjust the timecard to reflect the sick or vacation time.
Took ½ solar day off from work for personal reasons. Y'all can fill in the paid or unpaid personal time off.
Wasn't able to access the timekeeping system due to technical issues. You can make full in the missing punches.
Double-punched the timeclock. You can remove the extra punch.
Wrote the incorrect amount of hours on their timesheet. You lot can set the tape straight.

When in doubt, contact the employee to verify their timecard information before you make the change. For instance, if an employee fails to clock in or out, you might not call up their exact arrival or difference times — which is why you should check with them first, instead of guessing. Likewise, check the employee's paid time off balance before making timecard edits for PTO.

After editing an employee's timecard, send the updated information to the employee before approving it for payroll processing. This manner, yous and the employee can resolve any issues in accelerate.

When tin't you alter employees' timecards?

It is illegal to intentionally falsify an employee's timecard.

The FLSA makes clear that employers must pay nonexempt employees for all hours worked. Therefore, it is illegal to intentionally falsify an employee's timecard.

For instance, you cannot change a nonexempt employee's work hours from 48 hours to 40 hours considering y'all practice not want to pay them overtime. If the employee worked 48 hours then they must be paid for 40 hours at their regular rate and 8 hours at their overtime rate.

You also cannot change employees' timecards:

As a form of punishment (e.g., past reducing hours worked)
To avoid paying for authorized breaks

In short, any timecard manipulation that causes the employee to be shortchanged is unlawful.

Can you change remote employees' timecards?

Every bit with onsite employees, you can modify remote employees' timecards, provided the modify does not cause the employee to be underpaid.

Timekeeping for remote employees can be challenging due to the distance involved. Although utilizing a cloud-based timekeeping organisation makes it easier to track remote piece of work hours, there's all the same the potential for missing or erroneous timecard entries. At that place's also the gamble of remote employees performing unauthorized piece of work.

As stated earlier, employers are ultimately responsible for maintaining records of hours worked. However, in August 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a bulletin, clarifying fourth dimension tracking for remote employees.

The bulletin says that the onus is on the employer to prevent "work when information technology is not desired" and that merely developing a rule prohibiting unauthorized piece of work is not sufficient. "Management has the power to enforce the rule and must make every effort to do so." That said, the employer is nether no obligation to recoup remote employees for unreported piece of work hours "that the employer did not know about, nor had reason to believe was existence performed."

According to the DOL, remote employees are responsible for tracking their hours worked and then long every bit they receive the tools to do so. This means the employer must establish a reasonable reporting system that remote employees can use to report both scheduled and unscheduled fourth dimension worked.

Remote employees are responsible for tracking their hours worked so long every bit they receive the tools to do so.

What are the penalties of falsifying employees' timecards?

Employers tin confront serious consequences for illegally altering employees' timecards. Consequences may include:

Wage and hour complaints or lawsuits
Payment of back wages
Damages
Attorney fees
Criminal or civil penalties under federal and state laws

Several investigations accept resulted in the employer facing liability for falsifying employees' timecards. For instance, in the instance of Santonias Bailey v. TitleMax of Georgia, the plaintiff (Bailey) sued his employer (TitleMax) for unpaid overtime. Bailey'due south supervisor too repeatedly changed Bailey's timecards to reverberate fewer hours than he worked.

The Court of Appeals held that Bailey " was not paid because his time records were not authentic. They reflected an artificially low number of hours worked. This inaccuracy came from two sources: outset, Mr. Bailey underreported his ain hours by working off the clock. Second, Mr. Bailey's supervisor changed his time records to decrease the number of hours he reported."

The court deferred to the FLSA — which says that if the employer knew or had reason to believe that the employee worked the unreported hours, then the employer must pay the unreported hours.

In the finish, falsifying an employee's timecard is simply not worth it.

If y'all're looking for an automated, cloud-based platform for employee time and scheduling, bank check out Zenefits — which you lot tin use to track time for employees, contractors, and freelancers.

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Grace Ferguson

Grace Ferguson is a business organization writer and blogger covering payroll, employee benefits, and human resources. She has vast experience serving as a payroll and benefits administrator for large and small businesses. At age xviii, Grace landed her first job: working equally a secretarial assistant for a forestry company.