Time clock punch rounding is the adjustment of employee clock-in and -out times to the nearest set interval to simplify payroll processing. Punch rounding can benefit employees, granting them a grace period when starting or ending work; however, some employees may try to game the system to take advantage of employers.
Here are some situations
- Employees arrive at work early and punch in before their shifts. They then spend that time drinking coffee and talking with each other, waiting for their shifts to begin. Or, they punch out after sitting around talking amongst one another after their shifts end.
- You have several employees who need to punch in and/or out at the same time. This may take more than a minute for all of them to punch in or out for the day. As a result, some of them may end up punching in or out later than anticipated.
Regardless of the situation, once an employee punches in, that time is considered work time. This means that, legally, you must pay employees for that time. So, what solutions exist to remedy this situation?
Punch Rounding
Punch rounding may be an ample solution for these situations.
Federal law imposes restrictions on rounding an employee’s time. The act is only allowed if the following criteria are met:
- The rounding must work both in the employer and employee's favor. You can’t decide to only round when it benefits the employer.
- You cannot round in increments greater than 15 minutes.
- The rounding must be applied so that the employee is still fully paid for all hours he or she actually worked. If employees clock in 10 minutes before a scheduled shift and actually start working early, you cannot round away that time, even though it occurred before the scheduled shift's start time.
Note: Check with your attorney to see whether your state has additional rules regarding rounding. If there is a difference between federal and state law, the law that favors the employee must be obeyed.
The most common rounding amounts are:
Quarter-hour rounding (15 minutes): This is sometimes called the 7/8 rule. The 15 minutes is split so it is 7 ½ minutes before the quarter hour to 7 ½ minutes after the quarter hour, and all the punches are on 15-minute increments. So, if an employee punches in between 7:53 and 8:07, it will record the punch as 8:00. If he or she punches in at 8:08, then it is rounded up to 8:15.
Rounding by the 1/10 of an hour (six minute): The 1/10 of an hour is six minutes. The six minutes are split, so it is three minutes before the 1/10 of an hour to three minutes after the 1/10 hour, so all the punches are tagged on six-minute increments. So, if an employee punches in between 7:57 and 8:03, it will record the punch as 8:00. If they punch in at 8:04, then it is rounded to 8:06.
Rounding by five minutes: The five minutes is split so it is 2 ½ minutes before the five-minute increment to 2 ½ minutes after the five-minute increment, and the punches are all on five-minute increments. So, if an employee punches in between 7:58 and 8:02, it will record the punch as 8:00. If he or she punches in at 8:03, then it is rounded to 8:05.
"Ninth Circuit Roundly Supports Time Punch Rounding" is an interesting article by Seyfarth Shaw LLP. The plaintiff, from California, was trying to get his company to pay him an extra $15.02 for one minute of work. The Ninth Circuit Court ruled in the employer’s favor and supported punch rounding. You can read the whole article by clicking on the link above.
How does OnTheClock Help with Punch Rounding?
OnTheClock has a punch rounding option. The administrator can find this on the "Time Clock Settings" page, under the "Basic Settings" tab.
OnTheClock's options for punch rounding are as follows:
- 0 – There is no punch rounding occurring here, so all punch times are actual times.
- 6 – This would be rounding by the 1/10 hour or six-minute increment rounding, three minutes before and three minutes after each six-minute increment.
- 15 – This option is quarter-hour rounding, 7 ½ minutes before and 7 ½ minutes after each quarter of an hour.
The following are examples, and the examples are in this format:
Hour: Minutes: Seconds
7:56:59
0 punch rounding gives exact clock-in and -out times.
Six-minute punch rounding works like this:
- If an employee punches in at 7:57:00 thru 8:03:00, it rounds it to 8:00.
- If an employee punches in at 7:56:59, it rounds to 7:54.
- If an employee punches in at 8:03:01, it rounds to 8:06.
- All punches are executed in six-minute increments.
15-minute punch rounding works like this:
- If an employee punches in at 7:52:30 through 8:07.30, it rounds to 8:00.
- If an employee punches in at 7:52:29, it rounds to 7:45.
- If an employee punches in at 8:07:31, it rounds to 8:15.
- All punches are executed in 15-minute increments.
Time Clock Punch Rounding Chart
| Minute Mark | Six-Minute Rounding | 15-Minute Rounding |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | 6 | 15 |
| 9 | 12 | 15 |
| 10 | 12 | 15 |
| 11 | 12 | 15 |
| 12 | 12 | 15 |
| 13 | 12 | 15 |
| 14 | 12 | 15 |
| 15 | 18 | 15 |
| 16 | 18 | 15 |
| 17 | 18 | 15 |
| 18 | 18 | 15 |
| 19 | 18 | 15 |
| 20 | 18 | 15 |
| 21 | 24 | 15 |
| 22 | 24 | 15 |
| 23 | 24 | 30 |
| 24 | 24 | 30 |
| 25 | 24 | 30 |
| 26 | 24 | 30 |
| 27 | 30 | 30 |
| 28 | 30 | 30 |
| 29 | 30 | 30 |
| 30 | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | 30 | 30 |
| 32 | 30 | 30 |
| 33 | 36 | 30 |
| 34 | 36 | 30 |
| 35 | 36 | 30 |
| 36 | 36 | 30 |
| 37 | 36 | 30 |
| 38 | 36 | 45 |
| 39 | 42 | 45 |
| 40 | 42 | 45 |
| 41 | 42 | 45 |
| 42 | 42 | 45 |
| 43 | 42 | 45 |
| 44 | 42 | 45 |
| 45 | 48 | 45 |
| 46 | 48 | 45 |
| 47 | 48 | 45 |
| 48 | 48 | 45 |
| 49 | 48 | 45 |
| 50 | 48 | 45 |
| 51 | 54 | 45 |
| 52 | 54 | 45 |
| 53 | 54 | 60 |
| 54 | 54 | 60 |
| 55 | 54 | 60 |
| 56 | 54 | 60 |
| 57 | 60 | 60 |
| 58 | 60 | 60 |
| 59 | 60 | 60 |
References:
US DOL (FLSA)
https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs53.htm
https://www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/FLSANA/2008/2008_05_15_07NA_FLSA.pdf
Seyfarth Shaw
https://www.wagehourlitigation.com/defenses/ninth-circuit-supports-rounding/
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