Employers that have strict rules about work hours may be familiar with a certain scenario: Sometimes hourly employees clock in before they’re supposed to or work through their lunch breaks, despite the handbook discouraging this practice.
While an employee might disregard guidelines, employers cannot simply opt not to pay that employee for time worked, David Kalteux, labor and employment attorney at FordHarrison, told HR Dive, , after sharing similar advice on LinkedIn. His recommendation is simple: “When in doubt, pay the employee.”
In an ideal world, employers would be able to rely on general counsel or a specialist in HR compliance before making a call, Kalteux said, but that isn’t always possible.
Often, employers will try to “teach an employee a lesson by not paying them for clocking in early or for not taking their lunch break,” Kalteux said. “You’ll see them cut this time from their payroll, which is against the law.” He said employers even occasionally withhold money from a cashier if the till comes up short — sometimes rendering a paycheck that falls below minimum wage.
Kalteux is referring to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires that employers pay covered nonexempt employees overtime for hours worked beyond 40 hours per workweek, pay minimum wage and pay for compensable time.
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