Sign In Time Compared To Start Of Shift Time

[Sanbourne]

I WORK FOR A STATE AGENCY AND WE ARE REQUIRED TO SIGN IN A BOOK, THEN LOG ON TO OUR COMPUTERS(FOUR DIFFERNT LOGINS),AND BE ON THE PHONES BY THE START OF OUR SHIFT.  IF MY START TIME IS 7:00 A.M. AND I SIGN THE SIGN IN BOOK BY 7:00 A.M. HOW CAN THEY WRITE ME UP FOR BEING LATE FOR NOT BEING ON THE PHONES BY 7:00 A.M.?

[Sike]

Marc:

Generally employers have the right to say you actually have to be at your station or desk ready to work by a specified hour.  So if the rule is that you actually have to be ready to answer the phone by 7, there is nothing wrong with that, in and of itself.

However, and this is very important, if you are an hourly employee, not a salaried manager or "exempt" administrative employee, then you most likely are covered by federal and state law which requires that you be paid overtime for any work in excess of 40 hours in a calendar week.  These laws apply to most employers, including most state and federal government agencies.  

If you are an hourly employee, then the question is: are you being paid for the time it takes to sign in and do the four logins?  If not, this could be a case of what we call "working off the clock."  Depending on how long that process takes every day, your employer may be violating the law if you are not being paid for the time.  You may even be entitled to back pay for up to three years for the unpaid time, depending on the facts of the case.

I encourage you to check out this website of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, which contains information about the wage & hour laws applicable in your state.  It also has contact information if you want to speak with a staff member of the DLI about your specific situation.  If you have more questions you would like for me to address after you read this answer and look at the web site, just post a follow-up and I will be happy to respond.http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=563209&mode=2