Smartphone App to Track Work Hours Released by Department of Labor

The Department of Labor (DOL) has taken advantage of improvements in technology, recently releasing a smartphone app to track hours worked. This free resource from the DOL serves to allow hourly workers to easily track their gross pay through a user-friendly program that can be downloaded onto smartphones. Users can track normal work hours, break time, overtime hours, e-mail the summary of work hours to themselves or others, view summaries of work hours, and add any relevant comments to each work period. This groundbreaking application is available in both English and Spanish.

Though now only currently available to the iPhone and iPod Touch, the DOL has said that they would explore updates that could enable similar versions for other smartphone platforms, such as Android and BlackBerry. They have also faced criticism for not including enough salary features, but have responded that they would research adding other pay features not currently provided for, such as tips, commissions, bonuses, deductions, holiday pay, pay for weekends, shift differentials and pay for regular days of rest.

Though this is not yet an exhaustive application, it will serve as a valuable protective tool for employees against employers. In a wage and hour investigation through the DOL, a recorded, time-stamped work record will be valuable in proving that an employer miscalculated hours or wages. Furthermore, not only will it make easier the process of filing a Wage and Hour Complaint, but it will pressure employers to focus on keeping accurate records and to properly calculate hours and pay. 

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets standards for a national minimum wage, national standards of one-and-a-half time pay for overtime, and other wage and workplace regulations. If you believe that you are being misclassified or unfairly treated by your employer, contact a knowledgeable wage and hour attorney through the free consultation form on the right to see if you are entitled to back wages for underpayment or unpaid overtime. 

The smartphone application can be downloaded for free here: DOL Timesheet App. Workers without smartphones may access a paper timesheet in either English or Spanish here: DOL Wage and Hour Division.