What Records Do I Need to Keep for My Non-exempt Employees to Comply with Federal Wage Laws?

Normally when we think of federal wage laws – notably the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA – we think about whether an employee is exempt or not exempt from an entitlement to overtime compensation. Exempt employees, however, are also exempt from other required aspects of the FLSA, notably minimum wage and record keeping requirements.

Minimum wage is normally something we don’t worry about because for most employees to be exempt they must be paid a salary of at least $455/week, which will likely meet minimum wage requirements. Record keeping, however, is unique to non-exempt employees and just like the failure to pay overtime and minimum wage, failure to keep certain records on non-exempt employees is a violation of the FLSA. What follows is a list of the records that employers must keep on their non-exempt employees for each workweek pursuant to the FLSA:

Employee’s full name and social security number.
Address, including zip code.
Birth date, if younger than 19.
Sex and occupation.
Time and day of week when employee’s workweek begins.
Hours worked each day.
Total hours worked each workweek.
Basis on which employee’s wages are paid (e.g., “$9 per hour”, “$440 a week”, “piecework”)
Regular hourly pay rate.
Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings.
Total overtime earnings for the workweek.
All additions to or deductions from the employee’s wages.
Total wages paid each pay period.
Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment.

There is no particular format in which this information must be maintained, but however they do so employers are required to maintain it for at least three (3) years.

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