Time Capture and Recording

Defines the artifacts, methods and systems through which work time is recorded before it reaches payroll.

Time Capture Systemartifact

A time capture system is software or hardware infrastructure that records when employees start and stop work, tracks hours by job, location or cost center and transmits that data to payroll. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software applies pay rules automatically at the point of capture, eliminating manual rule enforcement downstream.

Modern systems capture time via mobile app, biometric clock, geofence or web browser, each with different audit-trail implications.

Geofenced Time Clockartifact

A geofenced time clock is a digital time-tracking tool that uses GPS boundary rules to verify an employee's physical location at clock-in and clock-out, preventing time entries from unauthorized locations. It is the primary time capture control for construction, field service and multi-site workforces. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software logs location coordinates with every punch, creating a location-stamped record for prevailing wage and certified payroll audits.

Geofence radius is typically set within a few hundred feet of the job-site boundary.

Automated Audit Trailartifact

An automated audit trail is a system-generated, tamper-evident log of every time entry, edit, approval and rule application in a payroll workflow, timestamped and attributed to a specific user. It is the primary evidence record in a wage-and-hour investigation or payroll audit. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software captures the original punch, any manager edit, the rule applied and the approving user, all exportable for audit response.

FLSA requires employers to preserve payroll records for three years; audit trails should match or exceed that retention window.

Recordkeeping Requirementconcept

A recordkeeping requirement is a legal obligation to retain specific payroll and time records for a defined period, as mandated by the FLSA, IRS or state law. Under FLSA, employers must keep payroll records for at least three years and time cards or schedules for at least two years.

California requires payroll records for three years; some states require up to six years.

End-of-Period Cleanupconcept

End-of-period cleanup is the manual reconciliation work payroll teams perform at the close of a pay period to correct time entry errors, apply missed pay rules, resolve punch exceptions and prepare data for payroll submission. It is a direct symptom of a time capture system that does not produce payroll-ready data automatically. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software eliminates this cleanup by applying overtime, break and differential rules at the point of capture.

Automated pay-rule application at the point of capture removes the reconciliation step that causes end-of-period delays.

Wage-and-Hour Rules

Covers the specific legal calculations and requirements that time data must satisfy to produce compliant pay.

Overtime Thresholdconcept

The overtime threshold is the number of hours worked beyond which an employer must pay a non-exempt employee at a premium rate, federally set at 40 hours per workweek at 1.5 times the regular rate under FLSA. Several states, including California, impose daily overtime thresholds in addition to the weekly standard.

California daily overtime: 1.5 times after 8 hours, 2 times after 12 hours; double time on the 7th consecutive day.

Regular Rate of Payconcept

The regular rate of pay is the hourly rate used as the base for overtime calculations under FLSA, calculated by dividing total compensation in a workweek (including most bonuses and shift differentials) by total hours worked. Excluding eligible compensation from this calculation is a common FLSA violation.

Formula: Regular Rate equals total weekly compensation divided by total hours worked in the workweek.

Meal-Period Penaltyconcept

A meal-period penalty is a premium wage payment owed to an employee when an employer fails to provide a compliant, uninterrupted meal break as required by state law. In California, a missed or interrupted 30-minute meal period triggers a one-hour premium at the employee's regular rate of pay for each violation.

California Labor Code Section 226.7 requires one additional hour of pay per missed meal period, per day.

Split-Shift Premiumconcept

A split-shift premium is an additional hour of pay at minimum wage owed to an employee in California whose workday includes two distinct work periods separated by an unpaid, non-meal break of more than one hour. It applies when total daily earnings do not already exceed the minimum wage for all hours plus the premium.

California IWC Wage Orders apply this premium to most non-exempt employees in the state.

Prevailing Wageconcept

Prevailing wage is the minimum hourly rate, including base pay and fringe benefits, that contractors and subcontractors must pay workers on publicly funded construction or service projects, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor (Davis-Bacon Act) or state equivalents. Rates vary by trade classification and project county. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software captures trade classifications and hours by project, producing the prevailing wage documentation required for Davis-Bacon compliance.

The Davis-Bacon Act applies to federal contracts exceeding $2,000 for construction, alteration or repair.

Audit and Penalty Controls

Defines the controls, records and processes that make payroll defensible under regulatory scrutiny.

Payroll Auditconcept

A payroll audit is a systematic review of payroll records, time data, tax filings and employee classifications to verify that pay practices comply with applicable law and that all compensation has been accurately calculated. Audits may be conducted internally, by external auditors or by regulatory agencies such as the DOL Wage and Hour Division. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software makes payroll audit response a documentation exercise through automated audit trails and exportable time records.

The DOL Wage and Hour Division recovered $274 million in back wages for workers in FY2023.

Certified Payrollartifact

Certified payroll is a weekly payroll report required of contractors on federally funded construction projects, submitted to the contracting agency to certify that all workers were paid at least the applicable prevailing wage rate for their trade classification and hours worked. The standard form is WH-347, published by the U.S. Department of Labor. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software generates WH-347-compliant certified payroll reports directly from captured time data, eliminating manual assembly errors.

Also known as: WH-347

WH-347 must be submitted within seven days of each payroll period on Davis-Bacon projects.

Union Payroll Complianceconcept

Union payroll compliance is the practice of calculating and reporting pay in conformance with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), including trade-specific wage rates, fringe benefit contributions, overtime rules and reporting obligations to union trust funds. CBA terms frequently override FLSA minimums and vary by trade, local and project type.

Fringe benefit contributions under a CBA must be reported separately from base wages on certified payroll.

Payroll Compliance Checklistartifact

A payroll compliance checklist is a structured list of verification steps that payroll teams complete each pay period to confirm that time data, pay calculations, tax withholdings and filings meet regulatory requirements before payroll is submitted. It is a manual control that compensates for gaps in automated rule enforcement. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software positions the checklist as a fallback; automated time capture and rule enforcement should make most checklist items redundant.

A complete checklist covers time record validation, overtime calculation review, tax deposit deadlines, new-hire reporting and benefit deduction accuracy.

Failure Modes

Names the specific breakdowns that produce compliance violations, underpayments and audit exposure.

Payroll Leakagefailure-mode

Payroll leakage is the unintended overpayment of wages resulting from undetected time entry errors, unapproved overtime, buddy punching or misconfigured pay rules, costs that accumulate invisibly across pay periods and are rarely recovered. It is distinct from underpayment liability but equally damaging to labor cost accuracy. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software surfaces payroll leakage through exception flagging before it reaches payroll submission.

Payroll leakage is distinct from compliance-driven underpayment liability; both degrade the accuracy of labor cost records.

Buddy Punchingfailure-mode

Buddy punching is the practice of one employee clocking in or out on behalf of another who is not present, resulting in fraudulent time records and inflated payroll. It is the most common source of inaccurate punch records in hourly workforces and is eliminated by biometric or geofenced time capture controls.

Biometric identity verification ties each punch to an individual, making proxy clock-ins impossible.

Payroll Error Underpaymentfailure-mode

Payroll error underpayment is a compliance violation in which an employee receives less than their legally owed wages due to miscalculated overtime, missed premium pay, incorrect classification or time data errors. In California, underpayment triggers waiting-time penalties of up to 30 days of the employee's daily wage rate. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software prevents payroll error underpayment by applying correct overtime and premium-pay calculations at the point of time capture.

California Labor Code Section 203 imposes waiting-time penalties that accrue daily until the underpayment is corrected, up to 30 days.

Payroll Compliance Glossary. 22 Key Terms Every Payroll and HR Team Must Know

Foundational Concepts

Fair Pay Starts at the Clock

Time Capture and Recording

Wage-and-Hour Rules

Audit and Penalty Controls

Failure Modes

How These Terms Relate

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