Is It Legal for My Boss to Dock Pay for Forgetting to Clock In on Time?

I recently arrived at work at 7:30 am and proceeded to start my normal tasks. At 8:00 am, I realized that I had forgotten to punch in on the time clock, which happens occasionally. Today, I reported this to my supervisor who said that he had seen me arrive at 7:30 am and start working. He also told me that he would dock my pay by half an hour as punishment. Is this legal?

Hi jjss,

"I recently arrived at work at 7:30 am and proceeded to start my normal tasks. At 8:00 am, I realized that I had forgotten to punch in on the time clock, which happens occasionally. Today, I reported this to my supervisor who said that he had seen me arrive at 7:30 am and start working. He also told me that he would dock my pay by half an hour as punishment. Is this legal?"

Are there any rules regarding the same? Have you received written warning letters outlining the consequences? If not, then this may not be the correct course of action.

Regards,
Rajat

At our monthly shop meetings, the subject has been addressed in general with all employees. I have not been given any written warnings. At the last meeting, the supervisor said that if the problem persists, we would not be paid for any of the time worked for which we failed to punch the clock. There is no written policy, as such, that any of the employees are aware of.

Then I guess what they did was within the limits - after all, they have just deducted half an hour only. So you have learned the lesson the hard way. It hurts, I know.

Cheerio,
Rajat

The supervisor is probably technically correct, but it seems a bit harsh to me, given that we are all humans and humans sometimes have memory lapses.
This kind of harsh approach does not do much for staff morale or team spirit.

I have recently started using a time clock at my work, and if we forget, we fill out an "adjustment slip" for the period, and the Manager will sign the adjustment slip if they are satisfied that we have been at work for the time in question. This is a no-blame, no-fuss approach that works really well and keeps the goodwill happening. My Manager has used humor to make the point that I need to be less forgetful, and that works well for both of us.

I also agree with Rajat's reply. But in my view, there should be some policy or precedent in your company for such actions. Is this the first case in your company?

Kailash