We represent hourly workers who have lost overtime pay because their boss made them work off-the-clock. Many people who must work without punching the clock are concerned that they did not keep records of their off-the-clock hours so they think they can’t “prove” their work. But the law governing wages and hours (the Fair Labor Standards Act) does not require an employee to keep detailed records; rather, the employer is mandated to keep records of hours worked. Since off-the-clock hours are not maintained by the employer as required by the law, then the employee can just testify as to the approximate amount of hours he worked and explain a few tasks that he did while working off-the-clock. Electronic entry and exit (“key card”) records, cell phone records, emails, toll road receipts, co-worker testimony, and security camera footage are some other ways for an employee to prove the off-clock hours worked.
Unless the employer can specifically disprove the employee’s testimony and evidence (which is difficult), then the court will award the employee the unpaid overtime even though the hours are only an estimate. Importantly, your employer can not give you “comp time” (days or hours off as compensation for off-clock work) instead of overtime at time-and-a-half your hourly pay. ”Comp time” is forbidden by the law if you worked more than 40 hours in a week due to off-clock work.
Contact us today for a free confidential consultation regarding your overtime rights for off-the-clock work.