What is the law as to the penalty regarding clocking in?
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What is the law as to the penalty regarding clocking in?
I work as a commissioned employee and am now being told that I must clock in to record my hours tin order o track eligibility for healthcare. We are required to clock in 15 minutes before our first appointment but we do not get paid by hours, only by appointment. If we are late to clock in, forget to clock in, or make a mistake clocking in we are then given a penalty. Is that legal? Could I be fired if I had too many missed/forgotten/inaccurate time clock punches? Also, we are not able to view our punches for the day to confirm their accuracy, and even if we punch incorrect they still will not fix it, instead will count that as a penalty.
Asked on November 4, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Your pay may not be docked for a failure to clock in--that law is very clear about that--BUT your employer, which has the right to set terms and conditions for employment, may legally penalize you in other ways for violating their policy, up to and including termination of employment (unless, that is, your employment is protected or guaranteed by a written employment contract; you may not be terminated in violation of a written contract). If you do not have have a written employment contract, you are an "employee at will" and may be terminated at any time, for any reason--such as not following a "clock in" penalty.
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