FLSA allows for various timekeeping methods

Q         We have a new payroll system that will allow employees to clock in from their phones. Are there any concerns about having nonexempt employees clock in and out from personal mobile phones?

A   In addition to setting federal minimum wage and overtime standards, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets record keeping provisions for employers. The record keeping standards require each employer to maintain records for each nonexempt employee, including identifying information, hours worked, and wages earned. You are required to keep payroll records for at least three years and have available at your central records office for at least two years all records on which wage computations are based. Typically, this includes timecards, wage rate tables, schedules, and records of deductions.

While most of the FLSA record keeping requirements are specific, its requirements for timekeeping methods aren’t as precise. You are generally allowed to use any timekeeping method you choose. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) fact sheet on the subject simply states that an employer “may use a time clock, have a timekeeper keep tract of employee’s work hours, or tell their workers to write their own times on the records.” This is very broad and gives each employer the discretion to adopt the best practice for its business. The only requirement is that the chosen method is complete and accurate.