Changing Time Sheets

[shadowcop]

What is the name of your state?Arizona

I'm pretty sure this is illegal but we need it in writing to bring to my employer. Many times we are relieved late or have assignments late in our shift that keeps us from leaving work on time. We are told we can not claim this extra time as it wasn't previously authorized.

Many of us have read the Federal and State Laws pertaining to this and it states that we are to be paid. My supervisor says we don't know what we are talking about. That there is no such law. I've personal qouted him the CFR and he wasn't real reseptive. Myself and a few others started claiming our time on our time sheet for this time work over forty in a week. Our supervisors and employers just mark it off once it is on our positive attendance record.

We are under the impression that this is a violation of current labor regulation. Could some one tell us which one so we can fix this.

 

[cbg]

I can tell you that it's under the Fair Labor Standards Act, but I can't (at least at this particular moment) direct you to the exact page of the law. You MUST under the FLSA, be paid for all the time that you work. It doesn't matter whether the time is authorized or not. If you work unauthorized time for whatever reason, they can discipline you for it but they MUST pay you.

If I get a chance later this afternoon, I'll try to find the exact reference for you. Otherwise, go to www.dol.gov and look under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

 

[shadowcop]

I have found several regulations that state that we must be paid for all time we spend in the performance of our duties or for the time we are required to be at our place of work. I've even written a report on it. My question is there a seperate regulation covering tampering/changing of time sheets.

Also, if an employer can discipline you for working unauthorized, overtime even when they, or the on coming shift, are the ones that are responsible, then your employers would be able to work you as many hours as they wanted to without paying you or you could be fired. There must be some some regulation covering this.

Thank you for your time.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Also, if an employer can discipline you for working unauthorized, overtime even when they, or the on coming shift, are the ones that are responsible, then your employers would be able to work you as many hours as they wanted to without paying you or you could be fired. There must be some some regulation covering this.

Thank you for your time.

that is not what CB said. Yes, they can discipline you up to and including firing you. BUT, they must pay you for the overtime.

 

[cbg]

No, there is not a separate regulation covering the changing of time sheets. There are some circumstances where changing the time sheet is legal. (Example: Employee clocks in at 7:45, spends 15 minutes putting his coat away, getting coffee, chatting with co-workers and checking his personal e-mail, then goes to work at 8:00. It would be legal for the employer to change his card to reflect an 8:00 start time.)

I said you could be disciplined for working unauthorized time. I didn't say that discipline could include not paying you. It can't. You MUST be paid for every hour that you work; no exceptions. (This assumes that you are a non-exempt employee.) You could work 12 hours of unauthorized time and they would have to pay you for every minute of that time, including OT if it meant you worked over 40 hours in the week. That doesn 't mean they couldn't give you a verbal, written, or final warning, or even term you; they could. But they would have to pay you.

 

[shadowcop]

I guess I'm an idiot and I'm not getting this. I am really sorry for asking again.

If it is the fault of your employer that you had to work overtime. You were required to stay and work. Then if you claim this time then you can be punished?

I'm really sorry to ask the same question but their are over 200 employees that are asking me this question and I want to be absolutey clear. These employees are afraid to contact the Lador Department cause they believe they will be fired if our employer finds out. From what I've seen they are right.

 

[cbg]

Okay. Let's try this one more time.

If the boss says, don't work overtime, and you work overtime, they have to pay you but they can discipline you in any other way they want, up to and including termination.

If you work overtime because you were not relieved on time, they have to pay you, but that doesn't mean they can't yell at you or put something in your file because they claim the time wasn't authorized. For that matter, they can term you if they want to. (No one said life was fair.)

You ABSOLUTELY MAY claim all the time you work. There are NO circumstances in which the employer can refuse to pay you for work you have already done. (NOTE: Special rules exist for exempt employees. I am talking about non-exempt (paid hourly) employees.)

If you file a complaint with the Department of Labor because you have not been paid for hours you already worked, and the employer fires you, demotes you, or takes other adverse action against you BECAUSE you filed such a complaint, that is illegal; you would have a case for wrongful termination; you would be able to take legal action against them.

They MAY discipline you for working time that they claim is unauthorized, no matter what the reason and no matter whether it is fair or not. They MAY NOT fire or discipline you BECAUSE you filed a wage complaint for the unpaid time. They MAY NOT require you to work without being paid.

Is that any clearer?

 

[shadowcop]

That is clear. And thank you for walking me through it. I appreciate it. It just seemed so unfair that I was having a hard time understanding. I don't think very many want to be fired at my place of employment at this time so I'm sure they will continue to work without pay. I, however, am not so easily discouraged. Here's the next question.

A fellow staff member informed our supervisor that they thought it was illegal for him to change, mark off overtime on our pay sheet after we had signed it stating these were the hours worked and claimed. Appearently he thought we might be right so he stoppped doing it like that. Now they cross off the time, initial it, then write that they "flexed us out" at the end of the week for that time we worked over. It is easy to prove that we were not sent home early as there is a seperate "on/off" unit sign sheet at our point of entry.

I discovered this was going on when I had our unit timekeeper pull up my paysheet so I could put a correction in for a day that I had taken leave for but was unable to change my paysheet because they had already been submitted. My supervisor had claimed that he had "flexed me out" for overtime worked on the very day that I had came to correct because of my leave. I was not even at work the day that he said he sent me of early. Records show I was not sent home early at all that week. I doubt that anything can be done, but we believe this shows a patern of questionable ethics and willingness to lie and falsify documents.

 

[cbg]

"I don't think very many want to be fired at my place of employment at this time so I'm sure they will continue to work without pay."

Shadowcop, you CANNOT LEGALLY be fired for complaining to the DOL that you are not being paid for all your time. I said you could be fired for working unauthorized overtime, NOT for demanding that you get paid for it. If you complain to the DOL and get fired because of it, that's a wrongful termination and you CAN take legal action.

It seems clear that nothing is going to change until someone at your company, whether it's you or someone else, calls your state DOL and tells them what is going on. I honestly can't tell whether your employers simply don't understand the law or if they are willfully ignoring it, but either way, from what you say they are in violation of pay practices.