Once of the most confusing payroll and time keeping concerns revolve around Daylight Savings Time and how to pay employees when they either lose or gain an hour during their shift.

In 2013, Daylight Savings Time begins (springs forward) on Sunday, March 10, 2013 and ends (falls back) on November 3, 2013.

So, how do you pay an employee while we’re stuck in the time warp? Here are the quick and easy answers:

Spring Forward (in the spring):

• If an employee works at 2am and then the clock moves forward to 4am when it would normally move to 3am, you are required to pay for both the 2am hour and the phantom 3am hour as two separate hours, not just one.

Fall Backward (in the fall):

• If an employee works at 2am and then the clock resets to 2am again when it would normally move to 3am, you are required to pay these two hours as two separate hours, not just one.

Remember:

• Companies are required to pay employees for all hours worked, even if this includes additional overtime.
• Communicating the change to your staff well ahead of time can result in less confusion when the time change occurs and during payroll and time sheet reconciliation after the switch occurs.
• It’s better to be safe than sorry: Consult the US DOL (http://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime_pay.htm) or Jumpstart:HR for any of your overtime wage determination questions.

Got a payroll question or want to see how Jumpstart:HR is helping clients solve their toughest payroll challenges? Click here to contact us today!