How do employees prove their hours worked?
The FLSA requires employers to keep accurate payroll records of employees’ work hours and the amounts paid to them. This is true even for employees who the employer thinks are excluded from the overtime laws. If an employer fails to maintain records, the courts rely on employees’ reasonable estimates of their work time that is provided through employee testimony or written documentation. Obviously, if an employee has maintained his or her payroll records that is very helpful. However, if an employee does not have pay records, and the employer does not either, the courts will usually credit the employee’s recollection of work time.
