Is Your Security Guard Time and Attendance Software Helping You Do Something Illegal?

As a software company that provides security guard time and attendance software, there is a question that I get all the time. That question is “Do you have a feature that allows me to automatically adjust my officers’ clock in times to the time the shift starts?”  To some people that might seem like a harmless question, but to me that’s a little scary. That’s because adjusting an employee timecard without their consent is VERY ILLEGAL!

Generally speaking, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), companies must maintain records of the hours that employees work for each day of every workweek.  To be in compliance with that requirement, companies can use any type of timekeeping system including hand written timesheets, time clocks, or time and attendance software.  Although employers can even delegate this timekeeping function to supervisors, it is ultimately the employer’s responsibility to ensure that the timekeeping records are accurate and unaltered.

Under the FLSA there are only certain times when employers should change their employees’ timesheets. One of those times is when an employee forgets to clock in.  In that case, an employer or supervisor can enter that employee’s time into the timekeeping records. Another example is if an employee is off on vacation or out sick, you as an employer or supervisor can alter the timekeeping records to reflect a paid vacation day or a sick day.

Security Guard Time and Attendance Software Shouldn’t Help You Break The Law

How does this apply to security guard companies?  Well, when security guard companies transition from a paper based clock in/out system, to a timekeeping system where the security officers’ times are being tracked electronically, a few policy changes will need to be made. The need for those changes is based on the difference in the way that the times are recorded.  When security officers are handwriting their starting times on timesheets, if they get to work 15 minutes early, for example at 2:45pm,  they usually just write their starting time as 3:00pm.  But once you transition to a software based system, if the officers clock in upon their arrival, by law they have to be compensated for the additional 15 minutes before the start of the shift.

So exactly what needs to be added to your current company policies? As an employer you will need to adopt a policy that specifies when security officers are allowed to clock in and out. For advice on how to word your policy talk to your legal advisor, but here is an example from www.shrm.org.

“Employees should clock in no sooner than 10 minutes before or after the scheduled shift and clock out no later than 10 minutes before or after the scheduled shift. Non-exempt employees are required to clock in and out for lunch breaks in addition to at the beginning and end of the day.

If an employee misses the window for clocking into the timekeeping system, the employee should notify the supervisor as soon as possible. The supervisor will manually enter the employee’s work hours via the manager time clock portal. Employees who repeatedly miss time clock entries will be subject to disciplinary action.”

Based on the FLSA, if your officers are clocking in too early, your only real option is to make it a training and/or disciplinary matter.  You can train, reprimand, warn, suspend or even terminate the officer, but you must still pay the officer if they clock in early.

Let’s talk about what could happen if you do decide to alter their clock in records anyway?  The FLSA allows employees to sue their employers, including the executives, owners, and supervisors, for changing those pay records.  In the case of Chao v. SelfPride, the court held the CEO personally liable and ordered him and his company to pay more than $650,000 to his employees for wage theft.  Ouch!

So, if you are interested in using time and attendance software that helps you break the law, you are going to have to look elsewhere.  OfficerReports.com is all about providing affordable and easy to use software that helps security guard companies better manage their operations, better service their current contracts, and win new business. We leave helping security guard companies break the law by making wholesale changes to officers’ clock in times to other software companies.

 

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By Courtney Sparkman

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