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time card fraud
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time card fraud
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We have an employee who works from home. If the company points out that he is charging for time he is not logged into his computer (which is necessary to work)and the employee admits that he hasn't be
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Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » time card fraud
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time card fraud
posted at 3/23/2010 3:49 PM EDT
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Posts: 94
First: 2/7/2008 Last: 3/21/2011 |
We have an employee who works from home. If the company points out that he is charging for time he is not logged into his computer (which is necessary to work)and the employee admits that he hasn't been accurately keeping his time and has been guessing which is tantamount to time card fraud, can anything be done to recoup the wages? I know we can't allow him to work for free which he offered but I also know we don't have to pay for time not worked. Other than disciplining or possibly taking it to small claims court, is there any other recourse? I'm assuming we can't make an adjustment to his next paycheck which would amount to a reduction in wages. |
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time card fraud
posted at 3/24/2010 4:00 AM EDT
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Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002 Last: 9/14/2011 |
No you can't deduct, and no you can't have him work for free. You could take him to small claims court, however, you may not win there, given you don't know exactly how much you overpaid him (and he obviously can't tell you since his timecard submissions were guesses - and hey! maybe those guesses happened to be accurate!) AND you believed his timecard submissions at the time. |
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time card fraud
posted at 3/24/2010 4:27 AM EDT
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
I see poor supervision and management here, I do not see "time card fraud". Consequently I see little you can do except have his manager manage and supervise. If that means ending the "privilege" of telecommuting then so be it. |
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time card fraud
posted at 3/24/2010 5:12 AM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
agree with HRPro,....I would be yanking this employee's right to telecommute, especially if you have a written telecommute policy that states the rules...even if he didn't admit it.
If he does admit it, I would terminate him so fast his head would spin! I wouldn't worry about recouping wages because unless he is willing to sign a revised timesheet that is based on login times, you really have no way of knowing what he worked. Is it possible for him to have been on work-related phone calls without being on the system? Are there any other job duties that don't require the system? I agree that it sounds like a system, supervision, and management problem. Why didn't his supervisor notice earlier? Does the supervisor compare his timesheet to his login times? Maybe something new needs to be added to the process. |
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time card fraud
posted at 3/24/2010 7:11 AM EDT
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Posts: 464
First: 6/30/2004 Last: 11/22/2010 |
Just a thought here...
We can make adjustments for payroll mistakes. Keypunch errors come to mind. Missed hours come to mind. I think it could be reasonable to make adjustments for mistakes an employee made turning in hours that were not worked. After all, it is a regular practice at some work places to run a "standard" payroll if timesheets are late or missing and to adjust for the differences in the next payroll. Why not expand the practice to capture a longer term problem? Of course, you could always file criminal charges and/or go to a small claims court for redress. |
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time card fraud
posted at 3/24/2010 7:41 AM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Marc, you might be able make that argument, but I would make sure that you had an authorization in writing from the employee before doing so....especially if the amount is large....or needs to be spread amongst several paychecks. They might be willing to sign an authorization, especially if it is return for not pressing criminal charges.
Even then, you have to make sure you never drop below minimum wage for all hours worked and OT for all OT hours worked, even if you are "correcting". I would pass it by an attorney also, preferably one well versed in employment/wage laws before actually deducting anything...because I think many states would require that it go through small claims court...just as you can't hold wages for many other types of employee theft/fraud. Depending on the amount/length, the OP might be able to argue a correction vs fraud. |
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