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Recordkeeping under the FLSA

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 CFR § 516.2, covered employers must keep records for each non-exempt employee showing the hours worked each workday and the total hours worked each workweek, the employee's regular hourly rate, straight-time earnings, and the overtime premium paid at not less than 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. There is no daily overtime requirement under federal law and no required form for the records. Payroll records, collective bargaining agreements and sales/purchase records must be kept for at least three years; records used to compute wages — including time cards and work schedules — must be kept for at least two years. Many states go further: California requires overtime at 1.5x after 8 hours in a day (not just 40 in a week) and 2x after 12 hours in a day or on the 7th consecutive day of work, and several states set their own meal- and rest-break rules that the federal law does not.

There is no required form or format for FLSA records — paper, a spreadsheet, or a time-and-attendance system are all acceptable, as long as the required data is accurate and available for inspection.