This article was updated.
On Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, at 2 a.m., daylight saving time will end. This World War I–era practice of turning back the clock one hour in the fall became a federal law in the United States when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act in 1966. The jury is still out on whether "falling back" is beneficial. Claims that it helps to conserve energy are dubious. Most people probably don't get an extra hour of sleep that night. And, the time change doesn't actually increase the number of hours of sunlight per day.
However, it does present a good opportunity for employers to examine their timekeeping practices with regard to nonexempt employees.
As most of us prepare to set our clocks back one hour that weekend, here are a few wage and hour considerations for employers.
Employers whose nonexempt employees are in the midst of a shift at 2 a.m. on Nov. 6, when that time becomes 1 a.m., may be required to pay these employees for one additional hour of work—if, in fact, the time change extends the number of hours actually worked. This is because federal law requires employers to pay employees for all hours worked, and these employees will have essentially worked the hour from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. twice (and that "extra" hour will carry over throughout the remainder of the shift). To avoid this, employers could alter the start or end times of these nonexempt employees' shifts on Nov. 6.
On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that ...