Tracking and Paying for Remote Work

Posted by BAS - 27 August, 2020

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This week, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Field Assistance Bulletin directing employers to use reasonable diligence to track hours of work for telecommuting employees. The guidance addresses the increase of remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Field Assistance Bulletin does not provide any new guidance. It confirms that under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer must pay its employees for all hours worked, including work performed at home and including work not requested by the employer. If an employer knows or has reason to believe that work is being performed the employee must be paid for the work.

An employer will be considered to be exercising reasonable diligence in paying for work if the employer has a reasonable reporting procedure for non-scheduled time. The reporting procedure must capture worked time and the employer must compensate employees for all reported hours of work even if the work was not requested by the employer.

This guidance provides that an employer is not required to take extreme measures to determine unreported hours if the employer has a reasonable time reporting process and that process does not discourage or prevent employees from recording time. If an employee fails to report unscheduled hours worked through the employer’s reasonable process, the employer does not have to investigate further to uncover unreported time.

All employers with telecommuting employees should make sure they have a time-reporting procedure and rules about recording time worked. A copy of the field assistance bulletin may be accessed by clicking here

Topics: HR & Benefits Compliance, Eligibility & Enrollment, HR & Benefit Plans, HR & Benefits News


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