Your boss or employer is responsible for maintaining time records, and it is not the employee’s duty to keep records. Keeping your own time records may still make sense, especially if you feel an employer or boss may be unlikely to keep accurate records. But even if your employer does not keep accurate time records covering your employment with the company, they still are responsible for providing the information should there be any dispute with regarding whether you were paid overtime or above minimum wage properly.
TYPES OF TIME RECORDS
Employers across the country use a variety of time tracking mechanisms from old-fashions “punch clocks” with time cards that literally get stamped. In recent times, electronic punch clocks have been introduced, usually featuring keypads and/or ID cards with bar codes. Other types of time records can be log-in times on a computer (though you should ask yourself if the “in” and “out” time is really accurate – did you do work before it punched you in or after you punched out?). Traveling employees sometimes are required to use their cellphones to call in for their “in” and “out times.” And of course, there still is for some the good old time sheet that is filled out by employees by hand.
Whatever the case, the legal requirements for tracking time is the same. But each way of tracking time can be misused and we have seen clients with each of these time tracking techniques that still were not paid properly for their time working, whether underpaid for overtime hours or underpaid based on the legal minimum wage.