Is it legal for my employer to round my work hours?

LAW ON ROUNDING WORK HOURS AND KEEPING TIME IN CA Wages is defined as payment in exchange for labor.[1] Labor is defined to include, “labor, work, or service whether rendered or performed under contract … or other agreement if the labor to be paid for is performed personally by the person demanding payment.”[2] Basically, labor includes any work performed for the benefit of an employer. However, sometimes employers round employees’ wages in order to make the final amount easier to calculate. When this happens, there are certain requirements the employer must meet in order to protect the employee for his or her time worked.


Rounding hours

Employers must pay their employees for hours worked including any overtime. However, California law allows employers to round hours worked as long as it is:

• Fair and neutral
• does not under-compensate employee overtime.[3][4]

Fair and neutral

Fair and neutral is defined as one that neither over nor underpays the employee for hours worked.[5] Further, employers must have a way of rounding payments already in place; they cannot just create a program on the spot or for a one-time period because it looks as if they are trying to underpay their employees.[6] California has found that rounding to the nearest tenth is acceptable.[7] All payments must be accompanied by a paystub or receipt in order for the employee to have record and see how he or she was paid.[8]

Grace periods

Grace periods include times when the employee clocks in early or clocks out late even though no work occurs. Courts have allowed grace periods of ten minutes (clocking ten minutes before or clocking out ten minutes after a shift) as long as no work is being done during this time.[9] If work is done during this period, then the employee is entitled to his or her hourly wages.[10]


What to do if a violation occurs:

Employees have a few options if they have been underpaid. First, is to resolve the dispute with the employer usually privately or with human resources. Second, the employee may file a suit in court. Lastly, the employee can bring a suit for unpaid wages with a governmental agency.[11] Employee can file under state or federal law depending on the specific case. It is also a great idea to speak with an attorney before choosing your best option for the maximum amount of relief/success in your case.