A: Schools vary considerably in terms of location, campus and building design, and security issues, of course. For risk management and building security purposes, there may be many good reasons to have employees sign in and out when going/coming from the building.
For HR and payroll purposes, it sets up a few interesting considerations.
1. It is fine to make all employees (both exempt and non-exempt) sign-in/out. However, it should be clear that the sign-in/out sheet is not used for pay purposes; it is used only for security purposes only.
2. Non-exempt employees should have a separate mechanism for recording their hours (i.e., a time-sheet, time-clock, etc.)
Failure to clarify these points may have negative consequences. Firstly, non-exempt employees may claim that they should be paid for time starting from their entrance into the building–as opposed to the time they actually begin their workday. Additionally, if it is not clear that sign-in/sign-out is for security purposes only, it could be construed that the school is tracking hours-worked for exempt employees (in this case, teachers)—which could potentially invalidate the exempt status of these employees.
As with most other employee-related practices, clear communication upfront is the best practice—and a means for avoiding misunderstanding, controversy, and legal and financial risk.
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