Attendance Points System Risk Diagnostic

The Assessment

For each question, pick the answer that best describes your organization today and note its points. Add up your points as you go. Your total maps to a result band below.

1. 1

   How does your points system treat absences that qualify for FMLA leave?

   Assigning points to FMLA-qualifying absences is per se non-compliant under DOL guidance and is the single highest-weight risk factor.

   • Points are assigned to all absences with no FMLA carve-out0 pts
   • FMLA absences are sometimes excluded at manager discretion, but no written rule exists1 pt
   • A written FMLA carve-out exists, but supervisors are not trained on it and occasionally assign points anyway2 pts
   • A written FMLA carve-out is in effect, supervisors are trained on it and the time-tracking system flags FMLA absences automatically3 pts
2. 2

   How does your points system handle absences related to ADA-qualifying disabilities?

   ADA reasonable-accommodation obligations require interactive-process engagement before attendance discipline; failure creates wrongful-discipline liability.

   • No ADA accommodation process is linked to the points system0 pts
   • ADA accommodations are handled informally by managers with no documentation1 pt
   • A written ADA carve-out exists, but there is no documented interactive process for each case2 pts
   • A written ADA carve-out exists with a documented interactive process, and the time-tracking system records accommodation status per employee3 pts
3. 3

   How is your termination threshold calibrated relative to your industry's average absence rate?

   Thresholds set far below the industry-average absence rate terminate employees at rates courts have found inconsistent with business necessity.

   • We do not know our industry's average absence rate and set the threshold based on internal judgment alone0 pts
   • We are aware of industry benchmarks but our threshold sits below 1.5 times the industry average1 pt
   • Our threshold is set at or above 1.5 times the industry-average absence rate and is reviewed annually2 pts
4. 4

   What is the length of your points reset period?

   Shorter reset periods accelerate points accumulation and increase the probability of discipline that cannot withstand legal scrutiny.

   • Points never reset or reset only upon management decision0 pts
   • Points reset every 6 months or less1 pt
   • Points reset on a rolling 12-month basis2 pts
   • Points reset on a rolling 12-month basis and employees can earn points back through attendance milestones3 pts
5. 5

   How consistently do managers apply the points system across shifts, departments and locations?

   Inconsistent application creates disparate-impact risk even when the written policy is compliant.

   • Each manager decides when and whether to assign points; no audit trail exists0 pts
   • Managers follow the written policy most of the time, but overrides happen and are not tracked1 pt
   • The time-tracking system assigns points automatically; manager overrides require documented approval and are audited quarterly2 pts
6. 6

   How are state and local leave laws (paid sick leave, safe leave, domestic-violence leave) handled in the points system?

   Proliferating state leave laws create additional protected-absence categories that must be carved out to avoid per-violation penalties.

   • We have not mapped state and local leave laws to our points policy0 pts
   • We exclude some state-protected leave types but have not completed a full audit across every jurisdiction where we operate1 pt
   • A jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction audit is completed annually and every protected leave type is carved out in writing and in the time-tracking system2 pts
7. 7

   How is the progressive discipline ladder documented before reaching termination?

   Skipping discipline steps or failing to document them weakens the employer's defense in wrongful-termination claims.

   • Termination is triggered at a single threshold with no prior written warnings or intermediate steps0 pts
   • A progressive ladder exists on paper (verbal warning, written warning, suspension, termination) but documentation is inconsistent1 pt
   • Every discipline step is documented in the employee's file with date, points total, manager name and employee acknowledgment2 pts
8. 8

   How does your system distinguish between tardiness, partial absences and full-day absences?

   Treating a five-minute tardy the same as a full-day no-call no-show inflates points accumulation and creates proportionality challenges in litigation.

   • All attendance infractions carry the same point value regardless of severity0 pts
   • Tardiness, partial absences and full-day absences carry different point values, but the scale was set informally1 pt
   • Point values are tiered by infraction severity and the tier structure is documented, communicated to employees and reviewed annually2 pts
9. 9

   How do employees learn about and acknowledge the points system?

   Enforceability depends on demonstrable employee awareness; a policy employees never received in writing is difficult to enforce.

   • The policy is communicated verbally during orientation with no written acknowledgment0 pts
   • Employees receive the policy in a handbook and sign a general handbook acknowledgment1 pt
   • Employees receive the points policy as a standalone document, sign a specific acknowledgment and the signed copy is stored in their personnel file or the time-tracking system2 pts
10. 10

    How often is the points system reviewed against current legal guidance, absence data and operational outcomes?

    Static policies degrade as regulations change and workforce composition shifts; annual review is the minimum defensible cadence.

    • The policy has not been reviewed since it was created0 pts
    • The policy is reviewed informally when a problem arises1 pt
    • The policy is reviewed on a fixed annual schedule using absence data, legal updates and employee feedback2 pts

Score Yourself

Add up the points from every answer. Your total falls between 0 and 23. Find your band below.

• 0 to 6 points

  Collapse Risk

  Your points system has fundamental structural gaps that create class-action and wrongful-termination exposure. Thresholds are likely too low relative to your industry absence rate, protected-leave carve-outs are missing or unenforced and documentation is thin. This profile terminates employees at rates that may not withstand a business-necessity defense.

  Next step: Suspend points-based terminations immediately and engage employment counsel to redesign the policy before any further disciplinary action.

• 7 to 12 points

  Exposure Builder

  Your policy contains recognizable structure, but critical carve-outs for FMLA, ADA or state leave protections are absent, incomplete or inconsistently applied. This is the most common profile among organizations that have not audited their points system against current regulatory guidance. Each absence event that should be protected but receives points adds to your cumulative liability.

  Next step: Complete a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction protected-leave audit and add explicit written carve-outs before the next pay period.

• 13 to 17 points

  Inconsistency Generator

  Your written policy is directionally compliant, but manager override rates, inconsistent documentation and informal exceptions undermine its legal defensibility. Disparate-impact claims are harder to defend than outright policy omissions because the gap is in execution rather than design. The time-tracking system may not be enforcing rules consistently across locations.

  Next step: Automate points assignment and discipline-step tracking in your time-tracking system so manager discretion is limited to documented, auditable exceptions.

What to Do Next

Your risk profile is only as current as the last time your policy was reviewed against live regulations and actual absence data. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software publishes this diagnostic to help HR and operations leaders identify the specific design elements that create legal exposure in no-fault attendance systems. For the next step, run your written policy through the Attendance Policy Compliance Grader to get a criterion-level enforceability score. If your organization already uses EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software, your time-tracking audit trail can supply the consistency data this diagnostic asks about.

• Attendance Policy Compliance Grader
• Payroll-Readiness Attendance Assessment
• Manual Reconciliation Cost Calculator
• Attendance Policy Frameworks Hub