Does my employer have the right to alter my time card simply because he disagrees what I recorded as work time.

Question

We self record are time in 15 min increments on an honor system. The rule is to keep track of your own time since the crew all have slightly different tasks and often clock out at different times. I also keep a log book of all job duties, times, appointments, etc. Last month my boss docked my check by 20 hrs. He said he thought I was recording time that I didn't work. Funny since he was not working with us on any of the days in question. We often work independent or with small crews, some of the other crew that day had recorded different times but some had times that matched mine. Also, I've been working 10 yrs, with Foreman status for 6 yrs. Last year the company lost lots of money from improper bids and bad money management. My boss does all the bids, yet I often run the jobs. He blames me for loosing money and low bids. When I asked him about my 20 hrs shortage he just had dumb answers and basically said to bad. Should I file a wage complaint with BOLI?

Mr. Michael O. Stevens · Answer

You can, but be prepared to be fired. It would be unlawful retaliation, but the wage theft is also unlawful. My suggestion would be to find a new job first. 
 
Also, if you do file a complaint, focus only on the hours docked. The fact that you are a foreman and there were bad bids has nothing to do with the validity of your complaint.

Q: Does my employer have the right to alter my time card simply because he disagrees what I recorded as work time.