Can My Employer Change My Timecard in New York?
You clock out at 6:15 p.m. But when you check your timecard later, it says 6:00 p.m. Or your manager removes time you spent opening the store, closing out, answering work messages, or finishing tasks after your scheduled shift.
Can an employer change an employee’s timecard in New York? Sometimes an employer may correct a genuine mistake. But an employer generally cannot alter time records to avoid paying an employee for time the employee actually worked.
Employers Must Keep Accurate Records of Hours Worked
Federal and New York wage laws impose record keeping obligations on employers. The U.S. Department of Labor explains that covered employers must keep accurate records of hours worked each day and each workweek for non-exempt employees. New York likewise requires employers to maintain accurate payroll and time records.
An employer may use an electronic timekeeping system, paper time sheets, a time clock, or another method. The format is less important than the result: the records should accurately reflect compensable time actually worked.
When Can a Manager Correct a Timecard?
Not every edit is unlawful. A manager may need to correct a missed punch, duplicate entry, obvious data-entry mistake, or other legitimate error. For example, if an employee forgets to clock out and the system records a 20-hour shift, correcting the record to the employee’s actual departure time may be appropriate.
The problem arises when an employer changes time records in a way that removes compensable work time. Examples may include automatically changing an 8:07 p.m. clock-out to 8:00 p.m., deleting time spent performing required closing duties, or changing a start time because an employee was told not to clock in until after completing opening tasks.
What Is “Time Shaving”?
“Time shaving” is a common term for reducing recorded working time so that an employee is paid for fewer hours than the employee actually worked. Even small recurring reductions can become significant.
For example, losing 15 minutes of paid time per day, five days per week, over 50 working weeks equals 62.5 hours of unpaid time in one year. If the lost time also causes an employee’s actual hours to exceed 40 in a workweek, overtime issues may arise as well.
Red Flags to Watch For
Potential warning signs include time punches changing after a supervisor reviews them; meal periods being inserted even though the employee worked through lunch; clock-out times being moved earlier; pre shift or post-shift work disappearing from the record; or a policy requiring employees to perform work before clocking in or after clocking out.
A single correction does not necessarily establish wage theft. A recurring pattern, however, particularly one that consistently reduces paid time, may warrant closer review.
What Evidence Should an Employee Preserve?
Employees who notice discrepancies should consider preserving their own lawful records while they still have access to them. Useful materials can include screenshots of timecards, work schedules, paystubs, text messages or emails discussing hours, calendar entries, and a contemporaneous log of actual start and stop times.
Employees should not improperly take confidential company information or records they are not entitled to possess. The goal is to preserve information relating to the employee’s own hours and pay, not to remove protected business records.
What If the Employer Says the Time System Automatically Rounds?
Some timekeeping systems round punches. Whether a particular rounding practice is lawful can depend on how the system operates in practice. A policy that systematically reduces employees’ compensable time or results in employees not being paid for all time actually worked can raise wage-and-hour concerns.
What Should I Do If My Timecard Was Changed?
Compare your timecard against schedules, messages, personal records, and paystubs. Save screenshots if you can lawfully do so. If you raise the discrepancy with your employer, consider keeping a copy of that communication. If the issue is recurring or involves significant unpaid time, consider speaking with an employment attorney about the circumstances.
Speak With a New York Wage and Hour Attorney
If you believe your employer changed your time records or failed to pay you for all hours worked, Naidich Law represents employees in Brooklyn and throughout New York City in wage-and-hour matters. You can contact the firm to discuss your situation.
General information only. Not legal advice. Reading this article or contacting Naidich Law does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship.
Learn more about New York wage-and-hour rights: https://www.naidichlaw.com/brooklyn-wage-theft-attorney/
Sources / further reading
U.S. Department of Labor, FLSA Recordkeeping Requirements: Fact Sheet #21
New York State Department of Labor, Wage Theft: What Is Wage Theft?