Overtime Rules Regularly Violated by Employers

Kronos Incorporated’s The Workforce Institute has released a new survey revealing that most hourly workers from around the world believe that their employer has violated overtime rules or laws relevant to their region. The Kronos Global Overtime Survey uncovered the following new facts about the opinions of hourly workers regarding overtime abuse:

• With a range running between 72 percent (Australia) and 96 percent (China), the large majority of hourly workers said that they are at least somewhat aware of laws governing overtime in their region. Of that majority, those employees who feel their employers violate those overtime rules ran between 47 percent (the U.S.) and 88 percent (China).

• Over half of the workers surveyed, representing Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S., said their employer offered overtime opportunities, including a 61 percent rate in the U.S., 79 percent in the U.K., and 80 percent in China.

• The survey found that, in fact, many hourly workers were required to work overtime including India (68 percent), China (67 percent), the U.K. (58 percent), and 26 percent in the U.S.

Said Joyce Maroney, director of The Workforce Institute, “Our survey looked at employee perceptions, but regardless of the actual state of affairs, if employees perceive that their employer is out of compliance, that employer is at risk. A key way for an organization to protect itself from wage and hour lawsuits is to have an automated way to keep track of time worked. Many organizations are also using “attestation” technology whereby employees attest to the accuracy of their timecard information at the end of every day or pay period. Ensuring that employees get paid accurately is in everyone’s best interests and an automated solution is a critical tool in making this happen.”