Shady wage payment

[TruthFire]

Hi there!

I work for a casino on an Indian Reservation [meaning that only federal labor laws, not state laws, apply to them].

Here's my question: Do they have the right to pay us by rounding up or down to the nearest fifteen minutes on the timeclock when we clock in our out? I feel like they take advantage of this to cheat us...

 

[cbg]

Federal law expressly gives employers the right to round to the nearest quarter hour, as long as it is done without regard for who it benefits. Example; if you are due in to work at 3:00, and you clock in at 2:53, it's okay for the employer to round you up to 3:00 as long as, when you clock in at 2:52, you're rounded down to 2:45.

 

[TruthFire]

Federal law expressly gives employers the right to round to the nearest quarter hour, as long as it is done without regard for who it benefits. Example; if you are due in to work at 3:00, and you clock in at 2:53, it's okay for the employer to round you up to 3:00 as long as, when you clock in at 2:52, you're rounded down to 2:45.

It's against departmental policy to clock in at 2:52. Is this policy a violation of federal law?

 

[cbg]

No, I just got finished saying that Federal law expressly PERMITS employers to round to the nearest quarter hour.

 

[FlyingRon]

It's against departmental policy to clock in at 2:52. Is this policy a violation of federal law?

If you're not working (or doing something directly related to preparing to work), the employer is not obliged to let you punch in early.

 

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

It's against departmental policy to clock in at 2:52. Is this policy a violation of federal law?

Then I would make it a point to clock in as close as possible to your scheduled start time.