#employee-hours
Employee Hours
Track employee hours for payroll and compliance
The Long-Term Part-Time Employee Rule: Why Your 401(k) Eligibility Tracking Needs an Update Right Now
Under SECURE 2.0, any employee who works 500+ hours in two consecutive 12-month periods and is 21 or older must be allowed to defer into your 401(k) — even if your plan requires 1,000 hours. Here's what the IRS's final LTPT regulations require, who qualifies, and the rolling two-year hours-tracking system small businesses need to avoid missed-deferral corrections.
DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-7: Security Checkpoint Time During Unpaid Meal Breaks Isn't Compensable
In May 2026, the DOL's Wage and Hour Division ruled in Opinion Letter FLSA2026-7 that time employees voluntarily spend passing through a security checkpoint to leave the premises during a 30-minute unpaid meal break is not compensable under the FLSA. Here's what the ruling covers, what it doesn't change under state law, and five compliance steps for employers with secured facilities.
DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-5: Can an Exempt Employee Work a Second, Hourly Non-Exempt Role?
DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-5 (May 28, 2026) confirms an exempt, salaried employee can pick up hourly shifts in a separate non-exempt role without losing exempt status — if the base salary stays untouched, the exempt role remains the primary duty, and the two jobs stay genuinely distinct. Here's how to structure and track dual-role pay.
DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-8: What Pre-Shift Work, De Minimis Time, and Clock Rounding Rules Mean for Hourly Employers
DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-8 holds that integral pre-shift work like patient handoffs is compensable, narrows the de minimis defense when timekeeping systems record punches to the minute, and requires rounding policies to be genuinely neutral — a compliance guide for any employer with hourly workers.
Is Unpaid 'Gap Time' Legal? The Third Circuit's FLSA Ruling and What It Means for Small-Business Payroll
On June 3, 2026, the Third Circuit ruled in Secretary of Labor v. Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services that the FLSA provides no federal remedy for "overtime gap time" — hours worked but paid at neither straight time nor the overtime premium — aligning with the Second Circuit and deepening a split with the Fourth. Here's what gap time is, why state wage laws still create exposure, and five payroll checks every small employer with hourly staff should run.
DOL Opinion Letter FLSA2026-3: Why Mandatory Roll Call Counts as Hours Worked — and How Section 7(b) Changes the Overtime Math
In January 2026, the DOL's Wage and Hour Division ruled in Opinion Letter FLSA2026-3 that a mandatory 15-minute pre-shift roll call under a collective bargaining agreement is compensable hours worked — but a properly structured FLSA Section 7(b)(1) or 7(b)(2) exemption can absorb that time at straight-time pay instead of an overtime premium. Here's how the thresholds work and what the math looks like for a 20-person dispatch center.
The Four-Day Workweek's Biggest Trial Yet Is In. Here's What It Means for Your Payroll
A Nature Human Behaviour trial of 2,896 employees at 141 companies found the four-day workweek cut burnout, held productivity steady, and convinced 90% of firms to keep it. Here's how small businesses handle the payroll side: the 100-80-100 model vs. compressed 4/10 schedules, FLSA overtime rules, California's daily-overtime election process, and the metrics to track in a pilot.
DOL Overtime Rule Reversal: What the $684 Salary Threshold Means for Small Employers
The DOL formally vacated the 2024 overtime rule on May 14, 2026, reverting the federal exempt salary threshold to $684/week ($35,568/year); small employers who reclassified staff in 2024 should re-check duties tests and state thresholds before undoing anything.
FLSA Exempt vs. Non-Exempt in 2026: The $684 Salary Floor and the Three-Part Test
After the 2024 overtime rule was vacated, the FLSA white-collar salary threshold remains $684 per week ($35,568 per year) in 2026. This guide walks employers through the salary basis, salary level, and duties tests, the safe harbor under 29 CFR 541.603(d), state thresholds that override the federal floor, and the financial exposure of misclassification.
How to Calculate Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) for Your Business: A Complete Guide
Learn the importance of calculating Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) for your business, a crucial metric that helps you understand your workforce capacity by converting employee hours into equivalent full-time workers.