Q: If a company requires entered time to be in 15 min blocks (15 min rule) can they dock your pay per minute late?
Required to enter our time started or ended only in 15 min chunks. If our work takes us 5 minutes past end of shift we are told we must stay and work another 10 minutes to get paid for the 5; if 5 early and start working we lose those. But they dock us to the minute if we are late or leave early. When questioned about it we are told "that is just the way it is". It seems they are utilizing a variation of "15 min rule" w/ no rounding. In doing research I stumbled across this rule, but in everything I read it can only be used if it does not favor the employer. This seems to not only favor employer, but target employee. Recently they hired a security company who installed panels and cameras. We have been given zero access to cameras and the panel is set up that we cannot see the time we arm or disarm. I am currently being reprimanded for consistently being 6-7 minutes late (only on days I disarm) when I arrive on time so as to comply with their 15 minute rule. This cannot be legal can it?
A: This could potentially be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law that requires non-exempt employees be paid time and a half for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. There are other laws that may be implicated, but my answer is based on the FLSA, which allows an employer to round employee time to the nearest quarter hour, but does not permit the employer to always round down. Here, if your employer never gives you credit for working extra time, but docks you if you work under the 15 minutes, then there could be a potential violation of the FLSA if, had you been given credit, you would have exceeded 40 hours in a given week (and been entitled to time and a half).
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
