Tracking time with a spreadsheet or verbal updates is the default for over 20% of practices (we know, we’ve asked). The rest rely on the time clock that comes with their practice management or payroll software. All of these methods may work, but are they good enough to hold up in court… literally?
We know it feels redundant. If your dental assistant works every weekday from 9:30 to 4, why bother tracking hours? We can think of a zillion good reasons, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll trim it down to five of the most costly.
1. Overtime Miscalculations
It should come as no surprise, but overtime is extremely common in the health and dental industries. Your patients need you when they need you, and sometimes those appointments run long. There’s always just a little more work that needs to be done, and enthusiastic employees are often willing to help. That means they earn overtime, and that overtime is harder to track than you may think.
Federal and State-Level Compliance Risk
If your time tracking isn’t precise enough to measure overtime at the right time, for the right employees, at the right calculations… then you’re exposed to non-compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and whatever overtime laws your state has enacted.
2. Missing Breaks and Meal Time
The FLSA doesn’t require you to offer meal breaks, but it does define them. A meal break is 30+ minutes of uninterrupted unpaid time away from work. A rest break is 10-20 minutes where employees can take a breather. It’s not always required in every situation, but when employees take breaks, you’ll need to track them accordingly. Use a labor distribution report to zoom in on those timesheets to get a better sense of where your payroll dollars are going.
State-Level Compliance Risk
Everyone needs a break sometimes. Especially when it’s the law. Some states, including California, have extremely strict laws about when and how you provide breaks, how they must be paid, and all the surrounding documentation.
3. Questionable Documentation at Audit Time
Nobody wants an audit, but they do happen. In the event of an HR audit, you’ll need all your documentation, employee files, supporting documents, training certificates, credentials — and yes, time tracking documentation. Your audit will not go well if you’re tracking hourly employees’ schedules with just verbal updates or a whiteboard.
Federal and State-Level Compliance Risk
You need to retain data for years, depending on your state’s requirements. Audits really do happen, and they’re not kidding around if things don’t line up. The FLSA says that you need to retain time tracking documents for at least two years. Quite a few states ask you for more. New York, for example, requires 6 years of wage and hour records. Do you have those documents handy?
4. Lax Time Tracking Means PTO is MIA
According to our survey, 30% of health and dental practice owners are not tracking their employees’ paid time off with an accurate system. Most use the accrual system set up in their payroll software, which isn’t too bad, although it isn’t as accurate as you might need it to be. Using paper records, updating people verbally, relying on a spreadsheet, or just not tracking PTO isn’t going to be compliant.
State-Level Compliance Risk
Some states require you to offer employees paid time off. Illinois, for example, has the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. That law entitles workers to one hour of PTO for every 40 hours they work, and if you aren’t tracking it correctly, that’s a compliance issue. Besides drawing the ire of the state of Illinois, your employees wouldn’t appreciate learning that their benefits may not be measured properly.
5. Exposure to Time Theft and Wage Theft
If your employee says they were there at 8am, but you know for a fact you saw them strolling in with a Starbucks at 9:15… and then your imperfect time clock backs them up, that’s time theft. On the flip side, if your time tracking is vague and they actually did show up early one day and you just put them down for their regular time, then you’re the one stealing time. Fixing those mistakes without documenting the change is a huge compliance gap.
Federal and State-Level Compliance Risk
No paper trail means mismatched memories. Most often, this isn’t malicious. People really do forget to clock in and out, especially if your practice is busy. That’s why you need an accurate time tracker that records any edits with timestamps, confirmation signatures, and acknowledgment at every step.
Get a Time Tracker That’s Actually Compliant
Compliance sounds like such a scary word, but with time tracking, it just means that everyone’s getting paid for the work they did, and nobody’s getting paid for work they didn’t do. When your time tracker can do that accurately and consistently, your practice will be more efficient. Your payroll will be less confusing, audits will seem a lot less scary, and people are more likely to show up on time and leave when they’re supposed to.
And it doesn’t have to be hard to do, either. Logging in and out with HR for Health is easy and accurate. Plus, you can control where employees are able to log in so you’ll know they’re actually at your practice. It’s set up for total time tracking compliance with every state and every city in the United States, so all those compliance gaps are sewn up tight.
Get a demo to see time tracking designed for the way your practice works.
