Nicole Truso Discusses U.S. Employers’ Options for Time Theft With SHRM

In “Can U.S. Employers Recover Damages From Former Employees for ‘Time Theft’?” labor and employment partner Nicole Truso spoke to SHRM about time theft and whether U.S. employers can use electronic monitoring to persuade courts to award them damages.

Truso noted that there is not a straightforward mechanism for recovering time theft under U.S. law apart from a formal lawsuit. She explained that many states have strict limitations on employers deducting from an employee’s pay. “Even in a case where an employee was overpaid based on time theft or timesheet fraud, most state labor agencies disfavor self-help mechanisms that employers have at their disposal to deprive employees of their wages.”

Truso added that determining how much an employee was overpaid based purely on electronic monitoring may be difficult. “An employee could easily claim they were engaged in a work-related task off their computer or work phone,” she said. “Without a formal finding that the employee was not entitled to pay for the time worked, an employer faces the risk of an employee claim for unpaid wages under federal and state law, which can come with significant penalties.”

The full article is available for SHRM subscribers.