The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recently released a free smart-phone application called DOL-Timesheet that educates employees about their legal rights, helps them document their work hours and overtime, and calculate wages due.
The app, in English or Spanish, is now available on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It can be obtained through the app store or downloaded from
www.dol.gov/whd.
The DOL is considering apps for other smart phones, and a printable tool also is available on the DOL home page for those who do not have smart phones.
The app is based on the premise that a corporation may misclassify a nonexempt team member as exempt or as an independent contractor in order to avoid paying for overtime and all hours worked.
The wage division’s goal is to utilize the information from the app during any investigation in which the enterprise may not have kept exact payroll records. If a violation is determined, the calculation of back pay owed to the employee will very likely be based upon records from the app as opposed to company records.
Back pay awards are costly since they cover the prior two to three years, depending upon whether the violation is deliberate. The underlying assumption is that the staff member will understand his rights and create honest and accurate records.
In the instructions, the division recommends that employees using the app keep their own records and document as much information as possible about employers’ pay practices. A list of activities is provided that businesses should – but may not – pay workers to perform, such as waiting for materials or repairs to equipment and travel time between job sites during the workday. The app also details the steps for filing pay violation complaints.
The first version of the app provides an educational section regarding breaks and how employers determine regular pay rates.
A variety of contacts for the division are supplied. Links connect users to the division’s Web site and to information on minimum wage and overtime pay requirements per the Fair Labor Standards Act.
With a touch of the screen, the app records the time the employee starts work, stops work and goes on breaks, including lunch.
A section is provided with each break screen for users to type any comments. Information is included concerning when break times are actually compensable, such as breaks of 20 minutes or less. Bona fide meal periods, defined as 30 minutes or more, are not paid.
The app points out, though, that employees must not perform any work at all for the mealtime to be considered noncompensable, and a phone number is offered for any questions.
Future versions of the app will likely include features that deal with tips, commissions, bonuses, deductions, holiday pay, shift differentials, pay for weekends and pay for regular days of rest.
Unfortunately, the opportunities for employee abuse are evident, and frozen wages, pay cuts and layoffs make filing claims more appealing.
For example, if a laborer answers a quick question or reads an e-mail during a 30-minute lunch break, the entire time is compensable.
Regardless of whether the company told the employee not to work, and even if others at the company were not aware he was working, the corporation is liable and must pay for the 30 minutes.
It is the responsibility of the employer to understand the law and create and enforce appropriate work policies, such as ensuring a team member does not perform work “on purpose” during noncompensable time in order to make more money.
If the business is later audited by the division, and has been uneducated or lax in the law, the associate’s documentation could be used against the employer during an investigation, especially if the company has failed to maintain accurate employer records.
It is important to understand that one anonymous call to the division from anyone, including a friend or relative of the laborer, may trigger an audit. Corporations should immediately become familiar with all aspects of the law and conduct an internal audit to ensure the proper classification and pay of workers.
Lynne Haggerman, M.S., is president/owner of Lynne Haggerman & Associates LLC, a Springfield firm specializing in management training, retained search, outplacement and human resource consulting. She can be reached at lynne@lynnehaggerman.com.[[In-content Ad]]
