December 13, 2018

Employee tardiness can be a problem for any profession, business, or industry.  The following are some actions an employer may take to address the problem.

1.  Emphasize the Importance of Coming to Work on Time
Employees need to understand that reporting to work on time is mandatory and part of their job requirements.  You can make sure employees understand this by emphasizing the employees’ role in the big corporate picture and how their being at work on time helps the company meet demands.

2.  Create Consequences
It needs to be clear that all employees are accountable for their actions and that there are consequences for violating company policies.  If you do not have a specific tardiness policy, consider writing one and having each employee sign a copy.  The policy should state that you excuse tardiness that is protected by state, federal, and local laws, and will consider each occurrence on an individual basis.

Before enforcing the policy against a specific employee, you should consider issues such as:

• Is there a medical or a harassment issue involved in the employee’s tardiness?
• Are there other problems with their performance?
• Is tardiness a chronic or sporadic problem?
• Are you enforcing the tardiness policy fairly to all employees?
• What is your threshold for considering an employee tardy?
• Can the problem be solved simply by changing the employee’s work hours so that he/she regularly reports to work later and leaves later (for example, arriving 15 minutes later and leaving 15 minutes later than before?)

3.  Standardize Your Response
Employees in managerial positions should understand how to effectively and consistently discipline employees.  They also need to know that their own performance is in part measured by how well their employees perform and follow company policies.

Thus, emphasize that managers be consistent in their discipline and their efforts to help achieve company goals.  One way for a manager to make sure his or her subordinates arrive to work on time is to have department roll call or a short stand-up meeting each morning.  Also, it is crucial that non-exempt employees clock in and out at the beginning and end of each work day, in order for there to be accurate records of any tardiness.

4.  Dock the Pay of Non-Exempt Employees
Although docking of pay is generally not allowed for exempt employees, an employer is fully entitled to dock the pay of non-exempt employees who report late to work.  [Cal. Labor Code § 2928.]  You may not deduct more than the proportionate wage that would have been earned during the time actually lost – however, for a loss of time less than 30 minutes, one half-hour’s wage may be deducted.

For example, if an employee whose hourly rate of pay is $20 per hour comes in 12 minutes late, you may deduct $10.  If that employee arrives 45 minutes late, you may deduct $15.

Need more information?
ESKRIDGE LAW may be contacted by phone (310/303-3951), by fax (310/303-3952) or by email (geskridge@eskridgelaw.net).  Please visit our website at eskridge.hv-dev.com.

This article is based on the law as of the date posted at the top of the article.  This article does not constitute the provision of legal advice, and does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship with Eskridge Law.