Payroll Tip - How Much is Too Much? Guide to Record Keeping Requirements
The Fair Labor & Standards Act sets record keeping requirements for employment subject to its provisions. There are no requirements to keep the records in a certain form; however, there are requirements stating the records contain certain information about the employee, wages earned and hours worked.
Basic records an employer must maintain are:
- Employee's full name, social security number, address & zip code
- Birth date (if under 19)
- Sex and occupation
- Time and day of week when the workweek begins
- Hours worked each day
- Total hours each workweek
- Explanation of how the employee is paid (e.g., $6 per hour, piecework, etc.)
- Regular hourly rate of pay
- Total straight-time earnings
- Total overtime earnings for the workweek
- Additions to or deductions from the employee's pay & total wages paid each pay period
- Date of payment and pay period
The FLSA requires employers to keep payroll records for at least three years. Wage computation records must be kept for at least two years (i.e. timecards, time schedules, wage rate tables, etc.) For additional information, visit the Wage-Hour website.