The FLSA Knows What Mistakes Most Companies Make: Common Violation 1 and how to avoid it.

FLSA Compliance laws can get tricky.  The laws can be hard to understand, and misunderstanding the laws could cost your business money.  Understanding where you are failing to follow FLSA regulations gives you a chance to fix the violations. This blog post is not meant as a substitute for legal council.  Always contact legal representation if you have any questions regarding FLSA compliance. 

The FLSA knows where most companies make mistakes.  You should know too so you can avoid them. Where do most companies go wrong?   The following list was collected by the FLSA and is available for you to download from their site. Click here.  

Common Violation #1:  
Failure to record all hours that were actually worked to include time spent before and after the shift.  

Problem: 
Collecting time and attendance data can be an overwhelming task, especially when your business has crews scattered across different job-sites.  Inaccurate hours, unapproved hours, lost time sheets can all contribute to incomplete recording of time and attendance.

Solution:  
Following three steps can protect your business from wage and hour litigation:

1.    No more paper. 
It is easy to misplace paper.  Handwriting can be hard to read. Hand written time cards have to be manually entered into the accounting system.  The more times data entry is involved, the more chances for mistakes.  Instead, use a time clock that records a clock IN and OUT in Real-Time and exports the data to a .csv file that is easily imported or, better yet, integrates with your accounting system.  Integrating time and attendance with your accounting system eliminates lost, unreadable time cards as well as removing extra opportunities for mistakes caused by human error.

2.    Clock IN or OUT includes a GPS stamp.
Location, location, location.  Knowing not only when but where your employees clock IN or OUT gives your business advantage in a wage and hour lawsuit

3.   Add an approval process to your workflow.

On-site approval of employee time and attendance records make it clear that there aren’t any discrepancies.  Whether the approval process takes place daily or weekly it allows discrepancies to be addressed and resolved before the FLSA gets involved, and fines get hefty.

Time and attendance software clocks employees IN and OUT in Real-Time eliminating the end of the week “guessing game” that accompanies filling out a form or paper time cards.   A good software solution will “stamp” each clock IN or OUT with the date, time and GPS location.  Real-time approval from managers and employees confirms at the end of each shift, or week, that the time is accurate.

Investing in a mobile resource management solution with a great time and attendance feature can protect your business from wage and hour litigation.  However, it is important to know the laws in your state and make sure that you are following them.  Ignorance is not an excuse when it comes to wage and hour litigation.

Come back next week to read our  post on the 2nd  most common FLSA violation and learn how to protect your business from litigation.

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