In a piece by Allen Smith, “Train Managers on Time Sheet Red Flags,” he illustrates the difficulty surrounding the timekeeping of employees. With reference to Lee Schreter (an attorney with Littler Mendelson in Atlanta) he writes that employee timekeeping records are often “highly suspect” when they are so regular. If a person works a regular job 9-5 and takes their lunch at the same time every day, this very well may be the case but according to Smith our common sense should tell us otherwise.
Allen Smith goes on to refer to another attorney, Todd Wozniak, and writes that it is the responsibility of managers to “actually review timesheets and ensure employees [are] filling them out accurately.”
Smith quotes more legal authorities and writes that the employer must care about misrepresentation of hours, whether it be over-reporting or under-reporting.
Smith ominously writes that “it doesn’t take much for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to disregard time records if it believe they are not accurate.” This looming thought isn’t misplaced however as the DOL helps employees take action against their employers with great regularity. Earlier this month, Wal-Mart was fined by the Labor Department for denying works appropriate overtime pay, ultimately paying $4.83 million in the deal. In the past, the company has also lost millions for other issues surrounding employees and their restricted access to their appropriate pay.
An employee should receive the appropriate compensation for their efforts. As a result, one should understand that a sophisticated attendance system can work to prevent numerous mistakes which could really hurt any company.
To prevent abuse of any electronic timekeeping system, there are a number of factors which can make such a system exploit-proof. For example, a device used to clock-in and clock-out of could be restricted to individual PIN numbers, ID badges, or even a biometric scan of an employee’s finger.
Of course, there are also less expensive options for companies on a more strict budget. A web-based time-keeping system is one such option. All this requires is a computer with internet access so that employees must log onto a particular computer (perhaps at a front desk) to sign in and out.
With a timekeeping system in place, the possibility of disciplining an employee for misrepresenting their hours also diminishes as it is nearly impossible if it is managed electronically and not by hand.
A time attendance system is a necessity. It incredibly lowers the room for abuse and error, ultimately helping an employer successfully lead a stable company.
Better Timekeeping
