The U.S. Department of Labor has just announced the launch of its first
application for smartphones: a timesheet to help employees
independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they
are owed. Available in English and Spanish, users can
track regular work hours, break time, and any overtime hours for one or
more employers.
Additionally, through the app, users can add comments on
any information related to their work hours; view a summary of work
hours in a daily, weekly, and monthly format; and email the summary of
work hours and gross pay as an attachment.
Employers should take note of the DOL’s comment, in its press release, that “[The] technology is significant because, instead of relying on
their employers’ records, workers now can keep their own records. This
information could prove invaluable during a Wage and Hour Division
investigation when an employer has failed to maintain accurate
employment records.”
Don’t fall into this trap. Employers have always had difficulty (and rightly so) with recordkeeping relating to exempt vs. non-exempt: California law, of course, makes the problem even more pressing here. Check out our incredibly informative, 26-page White Paper today: Who’s Entitled to Overtime: How to Avoid Mistakes When Classifying California Employees. Absolutely free!
As unreliable as these “records” would be, they’d likely win out if the HR department at the employer can’t come up with it own wage-hour records, or had problems with its recordkeeping.
As unreliable as these “records” would be, they’d likely win out if the HR department at the employer can’t come up with it own wage-hour records, or had problems with its recordkeeping.