Inaccurate employee records- they can absolutely be the bane of a HR department's existence. Aside from the term "inaccurate" not being a word that you would like associated with any aspect of your business, what is the risk? With the regulations put forth by the Department of Labor inaccurate employee time and attendance records can also be a death sentence to your business. In fact most of the common problems cited by the DOL are linked to employers not maintaining adequate records. In short, inaccurate records are a big deal.

In the event that you're judged to have misclassified any employees, most courts will use your time and attendance records to calculate the amount of back pay you'll need to pay. Thus, many experts contend that you have all employees record their work time regardless of classification. However, without records, the courts tend to side with the employee's recollections of hours worked which can be over exaggerated. Basically, without accurate, detailed records you can end up paying a significant amount of money that you do not necessarily owe.

The act of having employee records is a simple one. You just have to create them. Accuracy is another matter entirely. As a provider and expert in time and attendance management systems, we recommend automating your attendance records and recording the time of all of your employees as a part of your risk reduction strategy. Why do we recommend an automated attendance system? They take the human error element out of workforce management. Employee time is recorded accurately and hours paid are correct as well.