Posted on 04-Sep-09 by The Timekeeper

Evonik Goldschmidt Corp., a chemical manufacturing company located in Mapleton, IL, will reportedly be paying $104,976 in back wages to 85 current and former employees as a result of a DOL investigation.

Apparently the company didn’t pay some employees for time they spent working on “principal activites” prior to their “official” start time (sounds like a “donning and doffing” issue, maybe?). And they allegedly neither fully recorded nor compensated some employees for time spend on shift relief activities.

While I’m sure neither of these situations was intentional or malicious, the burden is on the employer to make sure their system fully records employee time worked, and that they accurately compensate employees for those hours. I don’t know what kind of time and attendance recording Evonik Goldschmidt uses, but I do know a properly configured, consistently used and appropriately monitored system, no matter what it is — from simple punch clocks to sophisticated computerized systems — should be able to handle both of these issues, and more.

What sort of time tracking system does your company use? Are you certain you’re fully recording time worked for all overtime-eligible employees? Don’t simply assume you are… make sure. The difference between an assumption and certainty could cost you a lot.

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