Answer: The answer is yes to both parts of the question! Federal regulations recognize that employers, particularly those using time clocks, often record time to the nearest five minutes or tenth or quarter of an hour. The presumption is that this eventually averages out so that employees are ultimately paid for all hours they actually work. This practice will be accepted so long as it does not result in an underpayment to employees over time. They must be paid for all hours they actually work. 29 CFR 785.48(b). So long as the rounding works both ways (for and against the employee), increments of no longer than 15 minutes are used, and the employees end up being fully paid for all hours worked, the practice will be allowed. Therefore, it would be prudent to audit the timecards periodically to ensure that an employee who, for example, clocks in 7 minutes early and clocks out 7 minutes late every day is fully paid for all of that time.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, Technical Assistance for Employers will be conducting seminars in Wage and Hour Laws on April 27 in Ontario and on May 6 in Eugene. Please visit www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA for a full seminar schedule and registration information.

After an uncertain couple of months, home builders are gradually getting back to what they do best. According to the latest U.S. Commerce Department numbers released on April 16, nationwide housing starts rose for a third consecutive month in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000 units from an upwardly revised February number. Even more encouraging, permit issuance for new housing construction rose by a solid 7.5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 units. According to NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, the latest report is particularly positive because it signifies that builders are confident enough to begin work on homes that will most likely be completed after the expiration of the home buyer tax credits. Single-family starts in March held virtually unchanged from an upwardly revised number in the previous month, with a 0.9% decline, but this was only because of a big dip in the Midwest, where an abnormally high level of activity occurred in February. All other regions reported gains in single-family starts. Multifamily builders were also busier, posting an 18.8% gain in new construction to a 95,000-unit rate. As for permit issuance, it was up a solid 5.6% on the single-family side and an even better 15.4% on the multifamily side.