Time-and-attendance recordkeeping requirements apply to exempt employees too

Recordkeeping - Minimum Wage Opinion Letter 04-26-08

April 26, 2008

Your letter to Director Noel of the Massachusetts Department of Labor (DOL) has been forwarded to me for
response. The Division of Occupational Safety (DOS), an agency under DOL, is responsible for responding to
inquiries concerning the applicability of the Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law, G.L. 151, and regulations
promulgated thereunder. You have asked if Massachusetts wage and hour law permits a time and attendance
system for exempt employees.

Please be advised that Massachusetts law requires employers to:

keep a true and accurate record of the name, complete address, social security number and occupation of each
employee, of the amount paid each pay period to each employee, the hours worked each day, the dates on which
each employee worked each week, and such other information as the Director or the Attorney General in their
discretion shall deem material and necessary. Such records shall be kept on file for at least two years after the
entry date of the record. Such records shall be maintained at the place of employment, at an office of the
employer, or with a bank, accountant or other central location within the commonwealth.

All such records must be kept and furnished to the Director or Attorney General upon demand, in accordance
with M.G.L. c. 151, §§ 3, 15 and 19(3). The term transcript, as used in M.G.L. c. 151, §§ 3, 15 and 19(3), shall
include photocopies, printouts of electronic information and any reproduction of records, entries or documents.

455 C.M.R. §2.06(2). These requirements apply to all employees covered by the Massachusetts Minimum Fair
Wage Law, M.G.L. c. 151, regardless of their exempt status.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Lisa C. Price
Deputy General Counsel

***=Names have been Omitted