If you have been noticing that your timecard is not adding up, do not let anyone tell you that you are just being paranoid. Timecard manipulation is all too common. It also may be illegal.
Your employer tinkering with your timecard may feel like a small thing. After all, what is a few minutes here or a few hours there? But little changes can quickly add up to take real money out of your pocket.
At Justice Law Corporation, we help people ensure that they are fully paid and that their rights are protected on the job. Our Washington wage and hour attorneys have dedicated their careers to fighting back against employers who violate the law.
Wage theft is a serious threat to working people and families across the state. Employers break the law to water down workers’ pay in a wide range of different ways, including by tampering with timecards. These kinds of moves allow them to effectively steal wages and overtime pay that employees have already earned.
The good news for workers who have been shortchanged is that you are not alone. Employers who steal wages often do so through general policies and practices that impact large groups of employees. State and federal laws give workers the power to join together to fight back.
Here is what you need to know about wage theft and what to do if your employer keeps changing your timecard so that your hours do not match how much you actually worked.
How Wage Theft Happens
The law in Washington is clear: Employers must pay employees for all work performed. They must pay employees an agreed-upon wage and a higher rate for overtime. They also have to pay employees on regular, scheduled paydays.
Wage theft is far more rampant than most people think. It can happen in a number of ways and usually does not mean that someone actually accessed your wallet and took out some cash. Instead, wage theft happens when your employer fails to pay you the full wages you have legally earned.
Here are some of the most common ways that employers steal workers’ wages.
- Paying less than the legally required hourly rate
- Not paying for all hours worked
- Misclassifying employees as independent contractors
- Requiring “off the clock” work
- Making illegal deductions
Some of the ways in which employers cut corners on paying their workers are obvious. Others can be more difficult to spot. It can be as subtle as shaving 10 minutes off your clock-out time every day.
When Can an Employer Legally Change a Timecard?
There are some limited situations in which employers can validly change timecards to adjust the hours an employee is credited with working.
If you forgot to clock out, for instance, your employer may adjust the record to reflect that time you actually left at the end of a workday. If you inadvertently clocked in early, your employer can also update your timecard for accuracy. The key here is that the changes ensure the timecard matches the time you spent on the job during the pay period.
What supervisors, HR professionals, and other employer representatives cannot do is intentionally falsify timesheets. This violates state and federal laws. Whether it is whittling down hours or removing breaks that you did not take, falsification of timecards is a form of wage theft.
Still, employers do it all too often. There are a number of reasons why, but most have to do with reducing what they pay their employees or covering up wage-and-hour violations.
Employers are legally required to pay a wide range of workers 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked beyond 40 in a given workweek. Some employers may tinker with timecards to keep the total hours worked at 40, even if that does not reflect reality.
Employers are also obligated to give employees certain paid and unpaid breaks. Some may falsify timesheets to remove any evidence that they are not complying with the law.
Intentional falsification can be difficult to prove. Here are a few common warning signs:
- Overtime hours that consistently get cut to 40 hours on the dot
- Lunch breaks are automatically deducted even when you work through them
- Clock-in times changed to start later than when you actually began working
- Time is disappearing from your record in the days leading up to payday
- A supervisor who tells you to clock out but keep working
Fortunately, you do not need to go it alone. A Washington wage and hour attorney at our firm can help you determine whether your employer is falsifying your timecards and take action to ensure you are fully paid.
How to Fight Back
State and federal laws empower you to take action if your employer is stealing your wages by changing your timecards. You have the right to seek:
- Unpaid wages
- Interest
- Double damages for willful violations
- Injunctions banning future wage violations
- Attorneys fees and court costs
The double damages remedy is important: If your employer shorted you $2,000, for example, a court can order them to pay you $4,000. That is in addition to legal fees and other awards.
Employees can pursue these claims individually in lawsuits or through collective action with coworkers. Class actions are a powerful tool that allows groups of employees who have been ripped off to join together to pursue claims against their employers. Employment class actions help workers level the playing field with large corporations by allowing them to pursue claims in a single case.
Our Washington Wage and Hour Attorneys Can Help
If you believe that your employer is violating your rights on the job, whether it is by tinkering with your timecards or in other terms and conditions, you do not need to go it alone. A Washington wage and hour attorney at Justice Law Corporation can help you evaluate your claim, understand your rights and options, and take action to fight back.
Contact us at (306) 207-0000 to schedule a free consultation with a Washington wage and hour attorney.
