Q. "Can we require exempt, salaried employees to turn in time sheets?"

Answer:

YES—absolutely! There are some benefits or reasons why you would want to track your salaried employee’s time. You may opt to track their time for:

• Evaluating the load of essential duties. Do they regularly put in 60 hours?

• Worker comp purposes – if injured, were they “on the clock” at that time?

• Determine Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) eligibility

• Hours based benefit calculations such as vacation or sick time accrual

• Accountability, to ensure they are not working excessively or disregarding days off

What about tracking time for performance reasons?
Generally, we recommend focusing on whether the job is getting done and deliverables are being hit instead of worrying about the exact amount of time spent in the office. Tracking exempt employee hours adds what is likely unnecessary work to their plate and yours.

While you may choose to track hours of exempt employees, remember this:

• Their salary should not fluctuate based on number of hours worked

• You should not be prorating exempt employee’s salary based on hours worked unless there are full days taken off

• Make sure any deductions from exempt salaries are allowed by your state laws

Still have questions?

Check out our webinar where Tiffany Henning explores the differences between exempt vs. non-exempt employees including how to define exempt and non-exempt statuses, understanding different types of exemptions, and clarifying the ministerial exception and how it applies.