Time For Business

Tips for Using the Tip Credit

Jun 12th, 2013
by Diane A.
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It’s been three years since the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced their “We Can Help” nationwide initiative, which placed a special emphasis on rooting out wage and hour violations in such industries as construction, janitorial work, hotel/motel services, food services and home health care. Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen in the news, it appears all too many employers haven’t yet received the memo. All too many continue to be tripped up by wage and hour violations.

waiter collecting tips

One big area of confusion is the “tip credit.” Under the terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), when you have employees who customarily receive tips, you may be allowed to take a tip credit against the normal minimum wage and overtime pay you would normally be required to pay.

The FLSA says you can take a tip credit of $5.12 per hour for those customarily tipped employees. In other words, you can pay tipped employees a minimum wage of $2.13 an hour, instead of the normal $7.25 per hour minimum. Of course, if the employee’s tips plus the $2.13 an hour you pay them doesn’t total up to at least $7.25 an hour, you also have to make up the difference. Under no account can an employee make less than $7.25 an hour, whether from wages alone or a combination of wages and tips.

(Note: Some states have more restrictive laws, and if that’s the case, you should obey the law of your state. So you’d be well-advised to check with your employment law attorney to make sure you’re complying with all the laws that apply in your jurisdiction.)

What You Need to Know Before Claiming a Tip Credit

Here are a few tips to help you avoid trouble if you have tipped employees and decide to take advantage of the tip credit:

Read the rest of Tips for Using the Tip Credit

Posted in: Wage and Hour.

How Time Tracking Can Save Your Business

May 28th, 2013
by Diane A.
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According to the Federal Judicial Center (“the research and education agency of the federal judicial system”), the number of federal wage and hour lawsuits filed has increased in each of the past five years. Experts are expecting this year to set a new record.

According to Noah Finkel, a partner with law firm Seyfarth Shaw, these increases represent a trend that appears to be here to stay.

Finkel says most wage and hour lawsuits fall into these categories:

  • Salaried workers who have been classified as exempt, but who believe their job should be considered non-exempt (i.e. they should be eligible for overtime pay).
  • Hourly workers who feel they’ve been shorted on their overtime pay.
  • Restaurant workers who think they should get more money under the FLSA’s tip-credit rules.

As it turns out, though, most employers find one of these three issues much more troubling than any other.

Read the rest of How Time Tracking Can Save Your Business

Posted in: Wage and Hour.

More Profit, Courtesy of Your Time & Attendance System

May 24th, 2013
by Diane A.
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Whether the economy is up or down, few businesses can afford to throw away money. Yet, all too many organizations waste hard-earned cash every day pursuing unprofitable projects or tasks.

When people think about the ways time and attendance tracking can save a company money, often times they focus on things like more accurate time tracking and more efficient payroll processing. But did you realize your time and attendance system can also help you identify which projects are most profitable? It’s true!

Read the rest of More Profit, Courtesy of Your Time & Attendance System

Posted in: Time and Attendance.

Practice These Onboarding Tips for New Hire Success

May 21st, 2013
by Guest Author.
2 comments
welcome sign

Welcome back to guest author Persis Swift, Marketing Communications Specialist at CAI. This time around, she’s got some excellent tips for helping new hires get acclimated. So, now I’ll turn things over to Persis…

welcome sign

Beginning a new position is overwhelming. Learning a lot of new information while trying to perform well can cause a new hire to be anxious or stressed. Get your new employees off to a great start by preparing them with a solid onboarding method.

Your team’s onboarding process will likely go smoothly if you also add several personalized actions to show your new employees that you’re glad they joined your staff.

Try some of the practices below to help make your company’s onboarding process enjoyable:

Read the rest of Practice These Onboarding Tips for New Hire Success

Posted in: Workforce Management.

More Than Just Time and Attendance

May 17th, 2013
by Diane A.
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Woman looking at facial recognition device

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about time and attendance tracking?

It might be a group of employees, waiting to clock out at the end of their shift using a traditional punch clock. It might be an employee swiping a badge to track their arrival at work. Maybe it’s even someone glancing into a facial recognition terminal to record the time as they leave for the day.

Whatever the scenario, for most of us, when we think of “time and attendance,” we likely think of recording and tracking employee work time.

But Wait! There’s More…

Making sure employee work time is accurately recorded so employees can be paid correctly is incredibly important, of course. But time clocks and time and attendance systems can be used for much more than simply recording employee hours.

Read the rest of More Than Just Time and Attendance

Posted in: Around Acroprint.

A Really Fresh Idea

May 14th, 2013
by Diane A.
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A recent press release from the Department of Labor reveals the DOL will be working closely with the SUBWAY franchisor to promote wage and hour compliance among the company’s franchisees.

SUBWAY logo

Among other actions, the franchisor has:

  • Placed a link to the Wage and Hour Division website on its franchisee website.
  • Provided resources to help franchisees comply with labor laws.
  • Invited Wage and Hour Division staff to present at several of its annual meetings.
  • Included in its weekly email newsletter to franchisees a series of articles explaining federal minimum wage and overtime requirements.
  • Obtained educational materials from the Wage and Hour Division, which are now used during corporate training of franchisees.

You know, I really like this initiative. As Mary Beth Maxwell (acting Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division) says, “It just makes good business sense.” You betcha! And speaking personally, I find it inspiring to see a company working proactively to prevent problems, rather than simply scrambling around trying to limit the damage after the fact.

Of course, one thing their franchisees will need to comply with the law is accurate time and attendance tracking. So if you’re a SUBWAY franchisee (or anybody else looking for a good time tracking solution), check out our online store for a complete line of time recording products to work with almost any environment and meet almost any need.

Posted in: Industry Buzz.

Just for Fun: National Payroll Week Survey Now Open

May 10th, 2013
by Diane A.
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Every year in September, the American Payroll Association (APA) sponsors National Payroll Week. As they say:

National Payroll Week celebrates the hard work by America’s 156 million wage earners and the payroll professionals who pay them. Together, through the payroll withholding system, they contribute, collect, report and deposit approximately $1.78 trillion, or 70.5%, of the annual revenue of the U.S. Treasury.

This year’s National Payroll Week is scheduled for September 2-6. As usual, the APA is running a payroll survey (their “Getting Paid in America” survey) in the run-up to that week.

The cool thing is: everyone who participates in the survey is entered to possibly win a trip for two to Las Vegas and a week’s paycheck. The survey only takes a few minutes of your time, and could end up paying off big for you, so check it out!

Posted in: Industry Buzz.

Don’t Try This At Home

Apr 26th, 2013
by Diane A.
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The labor laws in our country are complex, and it’s not too surprising people get confused over some of the more obscure regulations. But sometimes, for some reason people trip over the most straightforward provisions, and you may find yourself wondering, “What were they thinking?”

Here are a few examples of employers who ended up in court when just a little forethought (and, perhaps, a good time and attendance system) might have saved them. Don’t try these tricks at home, folks:

The 40 Hour Week

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt back on June 25, 1938. It established the principle of a 40 hour work week, and mandated overtime when workers put in more hours, with a few limited exemptions. Over the years, the rules have been adjusted to allow for additional exemptions and to modify the criteria for exemption, but the basic 40 hour workweek has remained.

Unfortunately, it seems that even after nearly 75 years, not everyone has gotten the word about that 40-hour-week thing.

Read the rest of Don’t Try This At Home

Posted in: Lawsuits and Legal.

Another Good Reason for Time Tracking

Apr 24th, 2013
by Diane A.
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A recent study has highlighted another good reason to install a good time tracking system at your office — for their health!

The survey, undertaken in the UK by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, looked at reasons why employees miss work, and how that relates to their behavior patterns both in and out of the office. One of the interesting findings was that only about 30% of the respondents take a lunch hour.

That’s not necessarily a good thing. While it might appear the people who work through lunch are hard-charging go-getters, they may not be any more productive than their break-taking peers. In fact, it may be the opposite.

The Dreaded Mid-Afternoon Slump

Businessman napping in a park

The survey also found that about half of workers responding reported they feel their productivity plummet in the midafternoon, around 3:00pm.

But we know regular breaks during the day can help workers remain alert and focused. Periodic breaks are nature’s way of recharging our batteries, keeping our brains alert and refreshed. Workers who skip lunch or breaks are actually setting themselves up for that mid-afternoon slump.

And more and more research is coming out to show that sitting for long periods of time is bad for our health in many ways.

In other words, if you encourage your employees to take regular breaks, they may well turn out to be healthier and more productive!

How Can Time & Attendance Help?

Let’s say you’ve instituted a policy encouraging your workers to take regular breaks. How can you be sure they’re complying and not simply falling back into their old habits? Time and attendance tracking to the rescue!

When you require employees to clock in and out for lunch or breaks, an automated time tracking system such as Acroprint’s timeQplus or AcroTime can provide on-the-fly reports to managers, allowing them to verify employees are taking breaks. (As an added bonus, they will also allow managers to ensure nobody is taking unfair advantage of the process with extra-long breaks.)

As a result, workers may be more motivated because they feel management is looking out for their well-being. And with regular breaks, they may be able to remain more productive throughout the day, with no more mid afternoon slump.

It’s a win-win! For more information about the full line of accurate, affordable Acroprint time recording products (including automated time tracking systems) and to learn more about the benefits they can offer, visit our online store.

Posted in: Workforce Management.

Going Walkabout With the DOL

Apr 22nd, 2013
by Diane A.
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You may be aware that the Department of Labor can show up unannounced at your door to conduct a wage and hour audit. (A good reason to make sure now that your house is in order!)

man walking

And you may also know that, as a part of their audit, they will examine your payroll and employment records and possibly interview various hourly and salaried employees.

But did you also know that as part of the inspection, they may take a “walking around” inspection? They very well may! And it would pay all employers to know what to expect, understand their rights and responsibilities, and be prepared.

Read the rest of Going Walkabout With the DOL

Posted in: Wage and Hour.

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