Required Record Keeping

Employers are required to keep records on wages, hours, and other items as a regular business practice. Records required for exempt employees are different than records required for nonexempt employees.

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The following records must be kept by the employer regarding overtime and minimum wage:

Personal information, including employee’s name, home address, occupation, sex, and birth date if under 19 years of age
Hour and day when work week begins
Total hours worked each workday and each workweek
Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
Regular hourly pay rate for any week when overtime is worked
Total overtime pay for the workweek
Deductions from or additions to wages
Total wages paid each pay period
Date of payment and pay period covered

Special information is required for:

Homeworkers
Employees working under uncommon pay arrangements
Employees given room and board
Employees receiving remedial education

In certain cases, if an employer fails to require and maintain important daily time records, the employer may not be able to dispute an employee’s claim of the number of hours worked, even if the claim is made months later.