Human Resource Blog

can i have employees sign a form saying if they dont clock in they dont get paid

I have some employees who continually forget to clock in or out on purpose. I know they are not working all hours they say they are. Is it legal to have them sign something stating if they dont clock in they dont get paid. I am in the state of florida

No, this would be illegal. Under both the federal and Florida minimum wage laws, you must pay employees for all the time they work — even if they do not follow some company policies. In fact, federal law requires that you as the employer accurately track the times and hours employees work. So when an employee neglects to clock in or out, you are in violation of the law.

Ideally, you would have an independent way to verify when employees are at work, such as a video camera, computer or cash register log-in, or reliable coworkers. But if you are in doubt, you must pay the employee anyway.

The solution is simple. At the end of each payroll week, you should issue a written reprimand to any employee who neglected to clock in or out even once. After 3 written reprimands (3 payroll weeks) terminate any employee who neglects to clock in or out again. We can almost guarantee that you will only have to terminate one employee, for the others to get the idea. (And you may not have to terminate anyone, once they see that you mean business.)