09/16/2011 (press release: NETtime) // Scottsdale, AZ, USA // NETtime Solutions, LLC
NETtime Solutions, LLC, a leader in SaaS time and attendance solutions for businesses of all sizes, recently conducted an overtime knowledge survey through their social media pages, Facebook.com/NETtime and Twitter.com/NETtime. As part of NETtime’s ongoing effort to educate business leaders on key compliance issues, the time and attendance provider would like to share the results obtained.
People from all backgrounds and demographic groups were asked the question, “According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), when should an employee get overtime pay?” Given four multiple choice answers, the SaaS time and attendance solutions provider learned that only 48% of survey participants knew how overtime pay was supposed to be calculated. The answers came as follows:
• 33% chose the wrong answer, “For hours worked after 8 hours in a single day.”
• 12% chose the wrong answer, “For hours worked over 40 in a Mon – Sun calendar week.”
• 6% chose the wrong answer, “For hours worked on scheduled time/days off.”
• 48% chose the correct answer, “For hours worked over 40 in a workweek.”
These are disturbing answers from both an employee and employer standpoint. In the United States, approximately 24% of employees work overtime according to Pew Internet Project. It is important that workers are aware of the proper wages they are to be paid so that they cannot be cheated, either knowingly or accidentally. Additionally, employers who are not in compliance with the FLSA overtime law and pay their employees incorrectly for the hours they have worked, open themselves up for potential fines and back wages pay. According to The Department of Labor, in fiscal year 2008, more than 197,000 employees received a total of $140.2 million in minimum wage and overtime back wages as a result of FLSA violations.
In a survey conducted by the US Department of Labor (DOL), the most common causes of overtime violations are failure to compensate for all hours worked, payment of straight time wages for overtime hours worked, misapplied overtime exemptions, and the use of “comp-time” instead of overtime pay. Manually tracking time and attendance exposes organizations to a greater risk of noncompliance with labor laws and the danger of expensive settlements. The American Payroll Association (APA) estimates a 1% to 8% clerical error rate when totaling employee hours manually. Automating time and attendance helps businesses minimize labor law compliance risk, frees time to focus on strategic initiatives and improves employee morale and productivity. Employers can help to reduce the risk of FLSA violations by using a SaaS time and attendance solution like NETtime.
About NETtime Solutions
NETtime Solutions is the nimble and responsive pioneer of available anywhere, anytime SaaS time and attendance. NETtime helps companies make informed workforce decisions with real-time time and labor management data while helping them maintain compliance with local, state and federal labor laws. For more information visit www.NETtimeSolutions.com.
