You clock out at 5:07 p.m.
Your employer pays you only through 5:00.
Sure, it’s only seven minutes.
But if it happens every day, those minutes start to add up.
California employers have historically been permitted to use certain neutral rounding practices when calculating employee work time. But California courts have increasingly scrutinized rounding—particularly when an employer’s electronic timekeeping system already records exactly when an employee clocks in and out.
So, is it legal for your employer to round your hours?
The answer depends on how the rounding system works and whether it results in you being paid for the time you actually worked.
Is Time Rounding Legal in California?
Traditionally, California courts have permitted employers to use neutral rounding policies.
For example, an employer might round an employee’s time to the nearest five minutes, tenth of an hour, or quarter hour. A neutral policy should not systematically favor the employer: sometimes the employee gains a few minutes, and sometimes the employee loses a few minutes.
But technology has complicated that rule.
Modern electronic timekeeping systems can often record an employee’s work time to the minute. In Camp v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., Home Depot’s system recorded employees’ exact punch times but rounded their total shift time for payroll purposes.
The court held that Home Depot could not rely on its rounding policy to avoid paying an employee for time the company’s own records showed he had worked. The court did not hold that all time rounding is illegal in California.
The case does, however, highlight a fairly straightforward question: If an employer can accurately record the time an employee worked, why isn’t the employee being paid for that time?
How Can You Tell if Rounding is Costing You Wages?
If your employer rounds your time, look beyond a single shift. Compare your actual clock-in and clock-out times with the time for which you were paid.
Some things to look for include:
- Your recorded work time is repeatedly rounded in your employer’s favor;
- Your actual punch times differ from the hours for which you are paid;
- You perform work during minutes that are later rounded away;
- You are required to complete tasks before or after your paid time; or
- Your employer’s timekeeping system records your exact punches but uses different times to calculate your pay.
A difference of a few minutes may not look significant. The pattern can be.
Suppose you lose seven minutes of paid time over five shifts each week. That is 35 minutes a week. Over 50 working weeks, it becomes more than 29 hours.
The individual discrepancy is small. The cumulative loss may not be.
What Should You Do if You Think Your Hours Are Being Improperly Rounded?
Start by comparing the records available to you.
If possible, save or document:
- Your actual clock-in and clock-out times;
- Paystubs and wage statements;
- Screenshots or copies of electronic time records;
- Work schedules;
- Your employer’s timekeeping policies; and
- Communications showing that you were expected to work during time for which you were not paid.
California employers are generally required to maintain records of employee work time, but keeping your own records can help you identify discrepancies between the time you worked and the time for which you were paid.
If you notice a pattern, don’t assume that a few minutes are too insignificant to matter. California wage-and-hour law generally requires employers to compensate employees for hours worked.
If you believe your employer’s rounding or timekeeping practices have resulted in unpaid wages, an experienced employment attorney can review your records and help determine whether your employer’s practices comply with California law.