Human Resource Blog

Idaho Attendance and Tardiness

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In Idaho, if an employee forgets to clock in, can the employer dock his pay?

There are ways to check in order to determine what time an employee actually arrived at work if he or she failed to clock in. Companies may also set policies to insure employees use the time clock. Otherwise, an employer may simply have to take a worker’s word.

It is important that employers do not even consider docking the pay of an employee who forgets to clock in. The employer who docks a worker’s pay as a disciplinary move for failing to punch in may find himself or herself on the receiving end of a disciplinary procedure.

The Idaho minimum wage law, as well as the minimum wage laws of almost every other state, makes it illegal not to pay a worker for time worked. Federal law also forbids it. The relevant law is the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA. Employers who violate it may face fines of more than $10,000 along with payment of back wages.

How can an employer insure that a worker arrived on time and merely forgot to clock in? After all, many employees “forget” to do so as a way of hiding the fact that they are repeatedly late for work.

Before taking any steps, an employer must keep accurate payroll records.

If an employee claims he or she forgot to punch in, employers have other methods of checking up. Computer login times can be examined, as can cash register records. Employers may wish to ask the employee’s co-workers about his or her arrival time. Without such means of evidence, however, the employer must take the worker’s word.

A way out of this dilemma is the establishment of a clock-in policy. The employer would start by posting a written policy to that effect in a prominent location. Next, the worker who forgets to punch in could face a verbal warning on the first violation. Following 3 violations, the employer could terminate the worker. The policy could, on the other hand, provide for a suspension without pay for 1 to 3 days after the third violation, following by termination after the fourth time. JH