When Time Records Don’t Present a True Accounting

Q. I’m an exempt employee with a nonprofit organization. The accounting department maintains that all employees, hourly and exempt, must record eight hours worked per day, regardless of whether they put in 7.5 or 11 hours on any particular day. In addition, we must show a lunch hour being taken regardless of whether it actually was.

My understanding, however, is that as an exempt employee, my time records should show actual time worked and that we are not required to take a lunch hour (unlike hourly employees). Does the fact that we work with government contracts alter the parameters of an exempt employee? Isn’t this falsification of a time sheet?

--J.L., Orange

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A. Exempt employees are normally paid a set salary, rather than an hourly rate, for accomplishing the tasks assigned to them. These employees also are not subject to the lunch period requirement.

If the employer requires you to fill out time sheets that are incorrect, you may not have any legal rights if no harm resulted from that practice. If the employer simply is attempting to maintain consistent records, for example, you would not have a claim.

However, if the employer is requiring you to falsify your time sheets to comply with specific requirements of a government contract, or to illegally overbill on a government contract, then you would have every right to complain about the deceit and demand an end to it. Falsification of records to the government is a serious violation and can subject company officials to civil and criminal liability. You certainly would not want to be a participant in such improper practices.

By requiring you to keep time records when you are an exempt employee, the employer also may be subjecting itself to liability for overtime compensation to you. As an exempt employee, your specific hours should not be a factor. But by requiring you to keep and report those hours, as a nonexempt employee would do, the employer may be prevented from claiming you are exempt, making it vulnerable to substantial liability for overtime.

As a practical matter, I suggest that you keep track of your correct time, regardless of how your employer requires you to report it. Ask your employer if its time-reporting requirements are connected with the government contracts.

--Don D. Sessions

Employee rights attorney

Mission Viejo

Owed Back Pay--and an Explanation

Q. In December 1995, I filed a complaint with the California labor commissioner in an effort to collect wages owed me. I finally received a $5,000 judgment against the company two years later, only to be told that it would probably take up to two years to collect from the company, if I ever could.

This company is still in business, but I haven’t received the money due me for 4 1/2 years. Is this typical? Are there other alternatives for collecting the money sooner?

--L.N., Los Angeles

A. The labor commissioner’s office, like many state agencies, is understaffed and its employees overworked. Nonetheless, there is no good reason why it should take two years to collect a $5,000 judgment from a company that is still open for business.

You are entitled to an explanation of why the labor commissioner’s collection efforts are taking so long. If the deputy commissioner assigned to your case will not give you one, ask to speak to the senior deputy in the office.

If you are still in contact with employees of the company, you might be able to help by giving the labor commissioner a copy of a current payroll check or other information about the company’s current bank accounts.

--Joseph L. Paller Jr.

Union, employee attorney

Gilbert & Sackman

Apartment Manager’s Compensation

Q. I manage a small apartment complex and receive a partial rent credit as my only salary. However, I am also required to submit a time card every two weeks. Is my employer required to pay me an hourly wage for the time I submit?

--L.W., Santa Barbara

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A. It is legal for your employer to offer a credit of two-thirds of the fair rental value of the apartment provided to you rather than pay you an hourly wage or salary. There are maximum amounts that can be claimed per month, and they vary, depending on whether your employer is providing an apartment just for you or for you and your spouse.

However, the amount of the credit on a weekly basis should at least equal the minimum wage that would have been paid for the hours you worked. Unless you are exempt, the credit should also equal the compensation of time-and-a-half you would have been entitled to for any work over 40 hours in a workweek.

You presumably work at the same premises where your employer provides you with an apartment, so determining how many hours a week you work can be difficult, since you are only entitled to be paid for hours you are on duty, not for all hours you are there at the apartment complex.

You should consult with the California labor commissioner’s office or with an attorney to find out if you are being compensated properly.

--Michael A. Hood

Employment law attorney

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker

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If you have a question about an on-the-job situation, please mail it to Shop Talk, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; dictate it to (714) 966-7873; or e-mail it to shoptalk@latimes.com. Include your initials and hometown. The Shop Talk column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice.