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Time Keeping | Fair Labor Standards Act. Presented by: Mark R. Hunter, CRIS 801-671-2431 mrhunter@summitrmi.com Rick Bjornson 801-815-1131 rbjornson@summitrmi.com www.Summit-Risk.com.
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Time Keeping | Fair Labor Standards Act Presented by: Mark R. Hunter, CRIS 801-671-2431 mrhunter@summitrmi.com Rick Bjornson 801-815-1131 rbjornson@summitrmi.com www.Summit-Risk.com Disclaimer: The information contained in this presentation is for a general understanding of insurance. Please refer to your specific insurance policy for details regarding your coverage. Summit Insurance Group, LLC. and Summit Risk Management, “SIG/SRM”, provides risk management ideas, concepts, and tools. We advise that all the risk management concepts, training tools, ideas, theories, programs, software, computer programs, sample and/or actual policies and procedures, sample and/or actual employee handbook information, safety programs or materials or any other consultative advice in which SIG/SRM provides, verbally or in writing, to the company, any of it’s employees, or any recipient of this information be reviewed by an appropriate attorney who is a specialist in that which is being reviewed. SIG/SRM does NOT provide legal or tax advice or opinions.
Major Provisions • Coverage • Recordkeeping • Minimum Wage • Overtime Pay • Drive Time • 1099 Independent Contractors Vs. W-2 Employees • Youth Employment
Recordkeeping The FLSA requires that all employers subject to any provision of the Act make, keep, and preserve certain records
Recordkeeping An accurate record of the hours worked each day and total hours worked each week is critical to avoiding compliance problems
Recordkeeping • Records need not be kept in any particular form • Time clocks are not required
Recordkeeping Every covered employer must keep certain records for each non-exempt worker • Employee's full name, as used for Social Security purposes, and on the same record, the employee's identifying symbol or number if such is used in place of name on any time, work, or payroll records • Address, including zip code • Birth date, if younger than 19 • Sex and occupation • Time and day of week when employee's workweek begins • Hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek • Basis on which employee's wages are paid (e.g., "$9 per hour", "$440 a week", "piecework") • Regular hourly pay rate • Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings • Total overtime earnings for the workweek • All additions to or deductions from the employee's wages • Total wages paid each pay period • Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment
Time Keeping Options Time Keeping Options • Traditional time clock • Pros – Hard to falsify, easy to operate, equipment longevity • Cons – Manual input, equipment break down, remote workers, buddy punching • Handwritten cards or sheets • Pros – Dirt cheap, easy to operate, nothing to break • Cons – Easy to falsify, manual calculation, data collection, repetitive data • Integrated time keeping/payroll • Pros – Customizable, web based, hard to falsify, data transfer to payroll, geo fencing • Cons – Higher direct cost, set up, training
Roofing Contractor– Ogden, Utah - $275,000 in back wages EXAMPLE
Minimum Wage: Basics • Covered, non-exempt employees must be paid not less than the federal minimum wage for all hours worked • The minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009 • States may have higher requirements
Minimum Wage: Issues • Compensation Included • Deductions • Hours Worked
Compensation Included • Wages (salary, hourly, piece rate) • Commissions • Certain bonuses (non-discretionary) • Reasonable cost of room, board and other “facilities” provided by the employer for the employee’s benefit (this is not per diem) • Personal use of a company vehicle – There are rules on this (go to www.Summit-Risk.com for a IRS link on this rule)
Deductions • Deductions from pay illegal if • Deduction is for item considered primarily for the benefit or convenience of the employer; and • The deduction reduces employee’s earnings below required minimum wage • Examples of illegal deductions • Tools used for work • Damages to employer’s property • Cash register shortages
Minimum Wage Example Employee receives $9 per hour for 40 hours plus $5 in commission and $20 in reasonable cost of board, lodging or other facilities Total earnings = $360 + $5 + $20 = $385 Total earnings/total hours $385/40 = $9.63
Hours Worked: Issues • Suffered or Permitted • Waiting Time • Meal and Rest Periods • Training Time • Travel Time
Suffered or Permitted Work not requested but suffered or permitted is work time
Waiting Time • Counted as hours worked when • Employee is unable to use the time effectively for his or her own purposes; and • Time is controlled by the employer • Not counted as hours worked when • Employee is completely relieved from duty; and • Time is long enough to enable the employee to use it effectively for his or her own purposes (defined as 20 or more minute’s)
Waiting Time Waiting to engage: Employee was told to be at the job site at 7:00 am, but decides to show up at until 6:00 am because his ride was early. The time waiting does not count toward hours worked, unless the employee actually starts working. Engaged to wait: Employee was told to be at the job site at 6:00 am, but the materials don’t show up until 7:00 am. The time waiting must count toward hours worked, including overtime hours if applicable.
On-Call Time On-call time is hours worked when • Employee has to stay on the employer’s premises • Employee has to stay so close to the employer’s premises that the employee cannot use that time effectively for his or her own purposes On-call time is not hours worked when • Employee is required to carry a pager • Employee is required to leave word at home or with the employer where he or she can be reached
Meal and Rest Periods Rest and Meal Periods: Rest periods of short duration, usually 20 minutes or less, are common in industry(and promote the efficiency of the employee) and are customarily paid for as working time. These short periods must be counted as hours worked. Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the employer has expressly and unambiguously communicated to the employee that the authorized break may only last for a specific length of time, that any extension of the break is contrary to the employer's rules, and any extension of the break will be punished (Employee Handbook). Bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) generally need not be compensated as work time. The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purpose of eating regular meals. The employee is not relieved if he/she is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating. (Safety meeting, answering phone calls, emails, etc.)
Training Time Time employees spend in meetings, lectures, or training is considered hours, unless • Attendance is outside regular working hours • Attendance is voluntary • The course, lecture, or meeting is not job related • The employee does not perform any productive work during attendance
Independent Training Time If an employee on his/her own initiative attends an independent school, college or independent trade school after hours, the time is not hours worked for his employer even if the courses are related to his/her job.
Apprenticeship Training As an enforcement policy, time spent in an organized program of related, supplemental instruction by employees working under bona fide apprenticeship programs may be excluded from working time if the following criteria are met:
Apprenticeship Training (a) The apprentice is employed under a written apprenticeship agreement or program which substantially meets the fundamental standards of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training of the U.S. Department of Labor; and
Apprenticeship Training (b) Such time does not involve productive work or performance of the apprentice’s regular duties. If the above criteria are met the time spent in such related supplemental training shall not be counted as hours worked unless the written agreement specifically provides that it is hours worked. The mere payment or agreement to pay for time spent in related instruction does not constitute an agreement that such time is hours worked.
Travel Time • Travel Time: The principles which apply in determining whether time spent in travel is compensable time depends upon the kind of travel involved. • Home to Work Travel: An employee who travels from home before the regular workday and returns to his/her home at the end of the workday is engaged in ordinary home to work travel, which is not work time.
Travel Time • Section 4(a) further provides that the use of an employer’s vehicle for travel by an employee and activities that are incidental to the use of such vehicle for commuting are not considered principal activities when the use of such vehicle is within the normal commuting area for the employer’s business or establishment and is subject to an agreement on the part of the employer and the employee or the representative of such employee.
Travel Time (cont) • Home to Work on a Special One Day Assignment in Another City: An employee who regularly works at a fixed location in one city is given a special one day assignment in another city and returns home the same day. The time spent in traveling to and returning from the other city is work time, except that the employer may deduct/not count that time the employee would normally spend commuting to the regular work site. Not typical construction employees (maybe white collar)
Travel Time (cont) • Travel That is All in a Day's Work: Time spent by an employee in travel as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, is work time and must be counted as hours worked.
EXAMPLE • Painting Contractor – Utah County - $67,000 in back wages.
Travel Time (cont) • Travel Away from Home Community: Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is clearly work time when it cuts across the employee's workday. The employee is simply substituting travel for other duties. • The time is not only hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours but also during corresponding hours on nonworking days. Thus, if an employee regularly works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday the travel time during these hours is worktime on Saturday and Sunday as well as on the other days.
Travel Time (cont) • As an enforcement policy the Division will not consider as work time that time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile. (Driving = working, Passenger = normal work hours on both normal and not normal work days)
Typical Problem • Problems arise when employers fail to recognize and count certain hours worked as compensable hours. For example, an employee who remains at his/her desk while eating lunch and regularly answers the telephone and refers callers is working. This time must be counted and paid as compensable hours worked because the employee has not been completely relieved from duty.
Overtime Pay Covered, non-exempt employees must receive one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over forty in a workweek (Some states have added requirements such as 8 hours in a work day in California)
Workweek • Compliance is determined by workweek, and each workweek stands by itself • Workweek is 7 consecutive 24 hour periods (168 hours)
EXAMPLE • Concrete Tilt-Up Construction Company in Salt Lake City - $397,000 in back wages
Regular Rate • Is determined by dividing total earnings in the workweek by the total number of hours worked in the workweek • May not be less than the applicable minimum wage (can be an average between different job categories eg: Drywall work, Painting, Wait Time, Drive Time, etc. and rate of pay by job class should be established with employee in advance).
Regular Rate Exclusions • Sums paid as gifts • Payments for time not worked • Reimbursement for expenses • Discretionary bonuses (must incl. non-discretionary bonuses – this for that) • Profit sharing plans • Retirement and insurance plans • Overtime premium payments • Stock options
Regular Rate (RR) Step 1: Total Straight Time Earnings (Minus Statutory Exclusions) Divided By Total Hours Worked = Regular Rate Step 2: Regular Rate x .5 = Half Time Premium Step 3: Half Time Premium x Overtime Hours = Total Overtime Premium Due
Example: Hourly Rate + Production Bonus Total Hours = 48Hourly Rate = $9.00 Bonus = $10 48 hours x $9.00 = $432.00Bonus + $10.00Total = $442.00 $442.00/48 hrs = $9.21 (Regular Rate)$9.21 x 0.5 = $4.61 $4.61 x 8 hrs = $36.88 (Overtime Due)
Example: Different Hourly Rates Janitor Rate $8.50, Janitor Hours 21Cook Rate $9.00, Cook Hours 26 21 hours x $8.50 = $178.5026 hours x $9.00 = $234.00Total = $412.50 $412.50 / 47 hours = $8.78 (Regular Rate)$8.78 x 0.5 = $4.39$4.39 x 7 hours = $30.73 (Overtime Due)
Example: Piece Rates Example: Piece Rates Piece Rate Earnings $391.00 for 46 HrsWaiting Time Rate $7.25 for 4 HrsProduction Bonus $12.50 46 hours = $391.004 hours x $7.25 = $29.00Production Bonus = $12.50Total = $432.50 $432.50 / 50 hrs = $8.65 (Regular Rate)$8.65 x 0.5 = $4.33$4.33 x 10 hrs = $43.30 (Overtime Due)
EXAMPLE Contractor in Las Vegas – $17,000 check X’s 200 Workers = $3.4m
Example: Salaried for Fixed Hours Salary Earnings $420.00 (for a 40 hour workweek) Hours Worked 48 Regular Rate $10.50 ($420/40 hours) Overtime Rate $15.75 Salary Equals = $420.00 8 hours x $15.75 = $126.00 Total Due = $546.00
Example: Fixed Salary for Fluctuating Hours Fixed Salary $420.00 (for all hours worked) Week 1 Hours Worked 49 Regular Rate $8.57 ($420 / 49 hours) Additional Half-Time Rate $4.29 Salary Equals = $420.00 9 hours x $4.29 = $38.61 (Overtime Due) Total Due = $458.61
Example: Fixed Salary for Fluctuating Hours Fixed Salary $420.00 (for all hours worked) Week 2 Hours Worked 41 Regular Rate $10.24 ($420 / 41 hours) Additional Half-Time Rate $5.12 Salary Equals = $420.00 1 hour x $5.12 = $5.12 Total Due = $425.12
Overtime may NOT be waived Overtime Pay May Not Be Waived: The overtime requirement may not be waived by agreement between the employer and employees. An agreement that only 8 hours a day or only 40 hours a week will be counted as working time also fails the test of FLSA compliance. An announcement by the employer that no overtime work will be permitted, or that overtime work will not be paid for unless authorized in advance, also will not impair the employee's right to compensation for compensable overtime hours that are worked.