Recently the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) clarified employers’ obligations to track compensable hours worked by non-exempt employees. This is an important reminder right now, as more and more employees are working remotely.

The guidance restates the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requirement that employers must pay non-exempt (hourly) employees for all hours worked, including those hours not requested but allowed and work performed remotely. If an employer knows or has reason to believe that an employee is performing work, the time must be counted as hours worked and compensated accordingly.

Now, more than ever, employers have more difficulty in knowing work is being performed if they’re managing remote employees, especially those working variable schedules to balance job responsibilities with their childcare/remote schooling. The DOL bulletin verified one way to better ensure hours worked are being tracked properly is by implementing a reasonable reporting procedure for non-scheduled time and ensuring employees are paid for that time. As long as an employer implements a reasonable time-reporting process, and it does not prevent or discourage employees from using that process, the employer may rely on the accuracy of the hours reported and pay remote employees accordingly.

Now is a good time to remind your employees that reporting all time worked accurately is a requirement and encourage them – never discourage them – to report all hours worked. And, if you’re not using an automated time and attendance system, contact The Employer Group. Our cloud-based system automatically tracks time for on-site, on-the-go, and at-home employees, making it easy for employees to report time, and for managers to review and approve. Click here for more information on our time and attendance system.