If you are like most hourly workers, you probably keep a running mental count of how many hours you have coming in your next paycheck. However, you probably round down when keeping track so that you don’t overestimate your income. That practice might actually hurt you because you won’t notice when your employer engages in a common form of wage theft.
Although your employer should pay you for every moment you are working for them; many businesses will bend or even break the law to reduce how much they have to pay. Digital timekeeping systems have made it easier than ever before for employers to engage in time-shaving, a way of depriving workers of the true compensation that they deserve.
What is time-shaving?
Shaving is a delicate act that involves the removal of just a small amount of hair in most cases. The same is true of time-shaving. It is a deliberate and careful attempt by an employer to manipulate their payroll and pay workers less than they should.
The manager responsible for issuing your check or submitting the records to the payroll department might go in and make small changes to your work record first. The changes from shaving off a few minutes from the beginning and end of each of your shifts will be so small of a change that you likely wouldn’t notice. However, as the weeks go on, that will add up to significant amounts of money that you don’t receive from your employer.
Realizing that you can hold your employer accountable for the discrepancy between when you worked and what they paid you for could inspire you to seek the wages you have already earned.
