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About Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR
Expertise
I can answer payroll questions, payroll tax questions, 401K questions. No stock option questions please and I have some knowledge of other pensions but am most familiar with the 401K pension. I can answer U.S.and Canada payroll questions proficiently and have a good general knowledge of UK and South Africa and some knowledge of Australia and New Zealand Payroll procedures. Please do not ask me homework questions I do not have time to answer them.

Experience
25 years with an international company in the Human Resources, Payroll and Payroll Tax areas.

Organizations
SHRM, APA, I.O.M.A.

Publications
I.O.M.A. and BNA

Education/Credentials
P.H.R., C.P.P., Canadian Payroll Administrator, Successfully passed APA class on UK Payroll Administration. Boise State University Human Resource Certification

Awards and Honors
APA Hotline Citation of Merit for last 8 years.

 
   

You are here:  Experts > People/Relationships > Retirement Planning > Accounting, Payroll & Pension Issues > Time Card Changes

Topic: Accounting, Payroll & Pension Issues



Expert: Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR
Date: 3/27/2008
Subject: Time Card Changes

Question
QUESTION: I work in an office (we are a City/County Municipality) in which 6 of us *hit the clock* and the other 3 are salaried.  The lady that actually figures the time cards, has been known to "change" them.  Is this legal?  Where can I find something on this?

ANSWER: It is a violation of the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) to change an employee's timecard without their knowledge. For more information check with your local Department of Labor.

Keep track privately of your time worked, copy your timecard before turning it in. If it continues to be changed file an FLSA violation against the company and the Department of Labor will investigate it.

Here is a news notice that you might be interested in:

CVS Caremark Corp. was fined $226,000 by the U.S. Labor Department for changing employee timecards and violating child labor laws. The department found 43 violations at stores in seven states. The company...

Besides the federal law, if you are in the state of California you now have the labor law 2699 or what is referred to as the "Sue your boss" law.

I would keep track of my time...it would be best if you could copy your timecard before turning it in as that is official proof otherwise someone could say you fixed the time. Keep copies of your timecard with copies of your checkstub that shows the time you were paid for. Talk to the other employees and have them do the same. Than take a class action to the Labor Department.

You can find your state labor department at the following website
http://www.dol.gov/dol/location.htm

And the US department of labor at
http://www.dol.gov/


Shirley

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Our boss tells us our time is 8:00 to 12:00 and 1:00 to 5:00, anything before or after "doesn't count".  My question is, why use a clock then?  (other than ones that come in late & leave early)  I myself have been having a perpetual problem of coming in late (moving, building, moving, no excuse I know) but once I'm here, I never leave the building and my ride doesn't get here until most days 5:30, so that's when I'd clock out.  I was left a note on my time card that I had to "Clock in at 8:00 and out at 5:00 to get my 8 hours".........how would you handle this?  I won't even go into the *attitude* of this person I have to work with!  Thank you sooooo much!  
Duree

Answer
The company has a right to set your hours. They can tell you which hours you are to work. If you work different hours they cannot change your timecard, they still must pay you for the hours worked. They can disclipline you for not working the hours they have assigned to you in performance issues. They can address the attendence being late even though you work late as the company needs the employees there when they should be there and to leave when they should leave for the company to run smoothly.  They can verbally reprimend you, they can write you up and you can be terminated for not following the instructions. They cannot change your timecard because it is illegal.

My suggestion to you would be to go to the HR person or whomever is your supervisor, talk to then and see if there is any way you can change your hours to come in a little later and leave a little later. Most companies will try and accomodate and it would be a win win for both sides. Other than that if you value your job, you should try to work the schedule you are given.

If your ride comes later than you should check out and go sit in the break room until your ride arrives. You should leave a little earlier so you can be to work on time.

Before you become angry with me, please remember that I am Human Resources, I know how it works, and I am being honest with you.

I hope it works out for you asking to have your schedule revised, I think that would be a good solution.

Shirley

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