The law says hourly workers
should be paid for every hour of work, whether
it is “approved” or not. So, what
are bad employers to do when payroll costs get
too high? Among other things, they work their
employees “off-the-clock.”
Traditionally, the most common examples of
off-the-clock work involved (1) demanding
that hourly workers under-report their work
time and (2) employees being told to “punch
out” on the time clock and then continue
working, or to “punch in” late.
Nowadays, all kinds of new ways of under-reporting
hourly workers’ time exist such as electronically
“shaving” hours from computerized
payroll records for “unauthorized”
overtime and/or requiring employees to perform
various job functions (e.g., putting on protective
clothing, setting up their workstations or
opening a retail store) or traveling
to remote locations before clocking in. Even
a few minutes saved here and there can add
up to an incredible cost savings to a large
company.