No Timesheet - No Pay?

JRS · February 2003

Any Payroll gurus out there? What do you do if a non-exempt employee does not submit their timesheet in time for payroll processing? Can we withhold pay? If not, do we assume the employee worked 40 hours and make adjustments after turning in their timesheet?

LindaS · February 2003

I have done payroll in a pervious life and if an employee did not turn in a timesheet, my first step was to contact the supervisor to find out the reason. If that doesn't get you the necessary paperwork I would inquire as to whether the supervisor was aware of any time missed. If that answer was negative then I just paid the employee for 40 hours per week. If there was overtime or I overpaid because of not having the information, I made the adjustments with the next payroll. It was amazing how quickly the timesheets were turned in after someone missed handing theirs in and had to wait to get their overtime pay.

Rockie · February 2003

When I worked for a hospital, if employee did not submit time, then they had to wait for next payroll to get paid. The supervisor was first contacted to make sure this was not the company's fault. According to our DOL, if the employee never submits a time sheet, you have no way of knowing what they worked and what to pay them; it's legal to make them wait until next payroll. - if it is the fault of the supervisor, then the company would have to cut a special check for pay.

In my opinion, probably the "safest" thing to do is to pay the employee for 40 hours if you are reasonably sure that's what they are designated to work on a consistent basis. If their overtime is not paid,you are right, they will probably remember next time.

Don D · February 2003

I agree with Rockie that this may be the 'safest' thing to do, IF your are looking for safety. But, I strongly feel that the overriding factor here is that to do so is TEACHING the ee that turning timesheets in is fairly irrelevant, and you get repetitive behaviors. We've had this discussion before at length on the Forum, I forget exactly where it is. Our stance is that if time sheets are required, the policy is that time cannot be paid in their absence. Same with time cards. If payroll does not receive them, there is no way we will pay overtime, no matter who suggests how much might have been worked. We will not pay it until the next cycle assuming we have the documentation at that time. Nor do we restrict this policy to non-exempts. For a variety of reasons we've discussed before, salaried ee's also complete time sheets and we don't pay them without their time sheet. We have no way of knowing who, in a distant facility, might not have worked at all during a particular week. (I know, I know......then there's California law.)

njjel · February 2003

In the state of New Jersey the DOL says an employee must be paid for all hours worked in the pay period it is earned. Therefore, if it were me i would have to pay the employee the 40 hours and adjust next pay period.

Lori B · February 2003

I think the issue gets down to whether you know the ee worked or not. If you know they worked, but no timesheet, you're kind of stuck paying and adjusting later. It is my position though that if I don't have a time sheet, how on earth do I know if you worked? (We have multiple sites). No tickee, no laundry. They only make this mistake once....

Don D · February 2003

njjel is correct in that the employer must pay wages for hours worked; BUT, only if the employer's procedures and accounting methodology have been followed. The DOL does not and will not require the employer to pay wages where there is no concurrence with the stated hours worked nor a record of having worked the time. Knowing he worked it is one thing. Having no backup and no knowledge that he worked is quite another. It will probably be difficult to assert that no supervisor had knowledge of the ee working; but, if you can do that, don't pay him until the required backup records are in place.

DeidreFR5 · February 2003

I would pay them hours scheduled and issue a warning notice for failure to turn in their timesheet (we have turning their timesheets in by Monday at 10am in our handbook).

No Timesheet - No Pay?

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