Recordkeeping: the twelve data points, shortened records, and retention

Paying someone correctly is only half the job — proving it is the other half. This chapter sets out exactly what a wage-and-hour record must contain, how long to keep it, and where it has to be available when someone comes asking.

In this chapter

Every nonexempt employee’s record must capture twelve specific data points, from identifying information through hours worked and wages paid each pay period.
Executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees can be tracked with a shorter record — but only because their exemption status, not their daily hours, is what the record has to prove.
Payroll records split into a three-year bucket and a two-year bucket, and wherever you store them, they have to be producible to the Wage and Hour Division without delay.