This year, Daylight Saving Time (DST) is begins Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 a.m. DST is a good time for employers to review safety and other protocol.
Safety
Many experts recommend changing the battery in your home smoke detectors when you change your clocks. Employers should take this opportunity to review your Injury Illness Prevention Programs, Fire Prevention Plans, and Emergency Evacuation Plans.
- Check fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems to ensure they are in working order and have not expired.
- Review safety plans to verify the employees named as responsible parties are still employed or not on a leave of absence.
- Update evacuation plans if evacuation routes have changed or are no longer safe.
- Call the fire department to set up a fire drill for each of your offices.
- Communicate with supervisors to review these policies and make sure supervisors are aware of their responsibilities under the policies.
Technology
Employers must also be prepared to deal with the technological implications of this change. Computers have been programmed under the DST of years past, so your computer systems may not be prepared to automatically adjust the clocks this year. Communicate with your IT department or an IT professional to prepare your employees and computer systems for this change. In particular, computer-based calendaring systems should be adjusted in accordance with the time change so important events or appointments are not “lost.”
Proper Pay
Your company should have the workday, or any consecutive 24-hour period, defined as to when it begins and ends. The California Labor Commissioner presumes the workday begins at 12:01 a.m. and ends at midnight if company policy does not otherwise specify. Likewise, the Labor Commissioner will presume your workweek runs from Sunday to Saturday.
California employers are required to pay employees for all hours worked over 8 hours in one workday and all hours worked over 40 hours in one workweek. Overtime for non-exempt employees must be calculated based upon the workday and the workweek established by the employer.
Presuming an employer is on the traditional workday and workweek schedule, the following examples will help illustrate how to properly pay employees after we spring forward.
An employee works from 11:00 p.m. on March 7, 2009 until 9:00 a.m. on March 8, 2009. The employee therefore worked 1 hour on March 7th and 8 hours on March 8th (because of the “lost” hour from moving the clocks forward.) Because March 8th began a new workweek and workday and the employee only worked 8 hours, he is not eligible for any overtime pay.
An employee worked 37 hours on Tuesday through Friday and was scheduled to work Saturday March 7th to Sunday March 8th, 11:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. The supervisor expected the employee to work a 4-hour shift, but because the clocks moved forward at 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. the employee left. The employee only earned 3 hours of wages. If the employer had been clear about the length of the shift and making employees aware that the time change will not impact the length of the shift, discipline may be in order.
The same employee works 37 hours over the following 5 workdays, without working more than 8 hours in any one workday. He only worked 3 hours on Sunday, for a total of 40 hours in the workweek. No overtime is owed.
What You Should Do:
- Review your Injury Illness Prevention Program and other safety programs to verify they are up to date. Use the Chamber’s Safety Wizard if you need assistance preparing these policies.
- Make sure your computers are ready to spring forward.
- Don’t forget to review time actually worked, as opposed to hours scheduled to work to take into account the “lost” hour from springing forward.
- Remind employees that daylight saving time ends at 2:00 a.m. on March 8, 2009.
- Ensure your workday and workweek are clearly defined if your company does not follow the Labor Commissioner’s guidelines.
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