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ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY
STATE OF WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIES
EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
TITLE: RECORDKEEPING AND NUMBER: ES.D.1
ACCESS TO PAYROLL RECORDS
(NON-AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT)
CHAPTER: RCW 49.12.050 ISSUED: 1/2/2002
RCW 49.46.040 and 070 REVISED: 5/7/2004
WAC 296-126 REVISED: 4/6/2023
WAC 296-128
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY DISCLAIMER
This policy is designed to provide general information in regard to the current opinions of the Department of Labor & Industries on
the subject matter covered. This policy is intended as a guide in the interpretation and application of the relevant statutes,
regulations, and policies, and may not be applicable to all situations. This policy does not replace applicable RCW or WAC
standards. If additional clarification is required, the Program Manager for Employment Standards should be consulted.
This document is effective as of the date of print and supersedes all previous interpretations and guidelines. Changes may occur
after the date of print due to subsequent legislation, administrative rule, or judicial proceedings. The user is encouraged to notify the
Program Manager to provide or receive updated information. This document will remain in effect until rescinded, modified, or
withdrawn by the Director or his or her designee.
This policy provides guidance on recordkeeping requirements under the Industrial Welfare Act
and the Minimum Wage Act. This policy also provides guidance on rounding practices.
1. Recordkeeping Requirements of the Industrial Welfare Act.
This policy addresses non-agricultural employer record keeping responsibilities for under the
Industrial Welfare Act and the Minimum Wage Act. In most cases the requirements are
essentially identical. See Administrative Policy ES.D.2 for agricultural employer requirements.
Employers bound by RCW 49.12 must keep records of the names of all employees, the address
and occupation of each employee, dates of employment, rate or rates of pay, amount paid each
pay period, and the hours worked. See RCW 49.12.050 and WAC 296-126-050.
Employees must be provided with itemized statements of pay at the time of payment of wages
showing pay basis (hours or days worked), rate or rates of pay, gross wages, and deductions
taken from pay. See WAC 296-126-040.
Employers paying workers by direct deposit must provide a pay statement to workers on the
established payday. The pay statement may be transmitted electronically, e.g., by e-mail, as
long as each employee has computer access to receive the information.
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“An itemized statement” means a separate statement issued to employees on each payday. Pay
periods shall be identified by month, day, year, and payment date.
The statement shall include the total of all actual hours worked, with regular and overtime hours
shown separately, and all rate or rates of pay whether paid on hourly, salary, commission, piece
rate or combination thereof or other basis during the pay period. Workers paid on rates other
than hourly or salary are entitled to a detailed, printed accounting of commissions, piece rate, or
other methods of payment earned in the pay period.
2. Employees Protected by the Industrial Welfare Act Have the Right to Examine Records
Kept by Their Employers.
Employers must make the above records “available to the employee upon request at a
reasonable time.” See WAC 296-126-050(2).
2.1 “Available to the employee” means that the originals of the required records (name,
address, occupation, dates of employment, rate of pay, amounts paid each pay period)
are made available to the employee for inspection, review, transcription, and/or
photocopying. Records must be available to the employee for inspection at the
employer's usual place of employment.
2.2 “Upon request” means an oral or written request by the employee.
2.3 “At any reasonable time” generally means within10 business days from the date of
request by the employee.
3. Making Records Available.
Employers must make records available for inspection by the department. The department may
inspect the required records. See RCW 49.12.050.
The department can also require statements of employers relative to wages, hours and
conditions of employment, and can inspect the books, records, and physical facilities of those
employers who are bound by the Industrial Welfare Act. See RCW 49.12.041.
The above means that the department has the authority to request reasonable production of an
employer’s records, i.e., the department can request the employer to provide copies or can
request the employer to allow the department to examine the requested records on the
employer’s premises, and to copy or have copied the relevant materials.
The department is also entitled to request meetings with employers and employer’s agents to
obtain statements or other information.
4. Poster Requirements.
Employers are required to post a copy of the Industrial Welfare Act rules in a poster (“Your
Rights as a Worker”), provided by the department, in a readily accessible location within plain
view in each work site where one or more employees are located. See WAC 296-126-080.
5. Records Must be Kept for at Least Three Years.
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All records required must be kept by an employer for at least three years. See WAC 296-126-
050(1).
“All records required” includes the original time records, including dates and hours worked,
recorded on time sheets, time clocks, time cards, computer-generated time records, video
camera (if used as a means of record keeping by the employer), or any other method of
recording hours worked.
Upon discharge, employees have a further right to make a written request and receive from their
employer within 10 days, a written statement setting forth reasons for discharge and the
effective date of discharge. See WAC 296-126-050(3).
6. Recordkeeping Requirements of the Minimum Wage Act.
The recordkeeping requirements of the Minimum Wage Act (MWA) are essentially similar to
those under the Industrial Welfare Act. Employers subject to the MWA must keep a record of
each employee’s name, address, occupation, rate of pay, amount paid in each pay period, and
hours worked each day and each workweek. See RCW 49.46.070 and WAC 296-128-010.
Under the provisions of the MWA and the record keeping regulations in WAC 296-128-010,
employers must also keep the following records:
Employee name
Home address
Occupation
Employee’s date of birth, if under the age of 18
Time of day and day of the week that each employee’s workweek begins.
Total daily or weekly earnings at straight-time rate.
Total overtime earnings for weeks in which overtime was worked.
Date of the wage payment and the dates of pay period covered.
Total wages paid for each pay period.
All additions or deductions to or from the wages for each pay period and a record
of the additions or deductions from pay.
6.1 Recordkeeping of Tips, Gratuities, and Service Charges. The Minimum
Wage Act requires employers to keep records of the amount paid each pay period
to each such employee, which includes tips, gratuities, and the employee portion
of service charges. Federal tax requirements of recordkeeping related to tips,
gratuities, and service charges are enforced by the Internal Revenue Service.
6.2 Recordkeeping of Paid Sick Leave. Employers must keep records of all
applicable employees’ paid sick leave accruals each month, any unused paid sick
leave available for use, the date of commencement of employment, paid sick leave
used, paid sick leave donated to a co-worker through a shared leave program, and
paid sick leave not carried over at the end of the “year” (as defined in WAC 296-
128-620(6)). See WAC 296-128-010(12)-(14).
7. Definitions of Terms for the Recordkeeping Requirements of RCW 49.46.
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7.1 Employee’s Name. The “employee’s name” is the employee’s full name as used for
Social Security purposes. The employee’s address is the employee’s home address.
Occupation is the occupation in which the employee is presently employed. An employer
may use symbols or employee numbers in place of names but they must be uniform and
defined.
7.2 Workweek. A “workweek” is “a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours or
seven consecutive 24-hour periods.” It can begin on any day of the week and at any
hour of the day, and need not coincide with the calendar week.
If all, or a defined group of employees have a workweek which begins on the same day,
a single notation of the time of day and day of the week that each workweek begins is
sufficient. Separate notations must be made for employees or groups of employees who
have a workweek beginning and ending at a different time.
7.3 Workday. A “workday” is “a fixed and regularly recurring period of 24 hours.” It can
begin at any hour of the day but must begin at the same time each day.
7.4 Place for Keeping Required Records. A “place for keeping required records”
means the records must be kept on the premises where the employee is employed or at
a central location and must be made available for inspection by an authorized
representative of the department within a reasonable time. A "reasonable time" is
determined to be within 10 business days of receipt of a written request.
Upon request from the department, employers subject to the MWA must provide the
above information to the department. See RCW 49.46.070.
7.5 Year. A “year” for the purposes of paid sick leave accrual is a calendar year, unless
a different fixed consecutive 12-month period is established by an employer’s policy or a
collective bargaining agreement. Other definitions of “year” may include, but are not
limited to a fiscal year, a benefit year, or an employment year.
7.6 Date of Commencement of Employment. The “Date of commencement of his or
her employment” means no later than the beginning of the first day on which the
employee is authorized or required by the employer to be on duty on the employer's
premises or at a prescribed workplace.
8. Required Records Must Also Be Accessible to Employees.
An employee who is entitled to the protections of the Minimum Wage Act who requests “his or
her work record” may inspect the records that the employer is required to keep “at any
reasonable time.” See WAC 296-128-025.
“Employee work record” means the original records and must include the name, address, and
occupation of each employee; dates of employment; rate or rates of pay including regular and
overtime rates; amount paid each pay period to each employee; all deductions from or additions
to wages; and the hours and dates worked including regular and overtime hours
9. Inspection of Records.
Such records shall be open upon request to inspection, review, transcription, and/or
photocopying by the employee and must be available at the employee's usual place of
employment.
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9.1 Upon Request. “Upon request” shall mean an oral or written request by the
employee.
9.2 At Any Reasonable Time. “At any reasonable time” generally means within 10
business days from date of request by employee.
10. All Records Required Must be Kept for at Least Three Years. See WAC 296-128-020.
“All records required” shall include the original time records, including dates and hours
worked, recorded on time sheets, time clocks, time cards, computer-generated time records,
video camera (if used as a means of record keeping by the employer), or any other method of
recording hours worked.
11. Time Clocks and Rounding Practices.
Employers may use time clocks, sign-in/out sheets, electronic swipe cards, time cards, or other
methods of keeping track of employee’s dates and hours worked. Employees must be paid for
all time worked, which includes all preparatory and concluding activities. Employers may pay for
all minutes on the time card, or may use the rounding practices described below.
11.1 Differences between clock records and actual hours worked when rounding
is not used. Time clocks are not required. When employer’s use the time clock method,
minor differences between the clock records and actual hours worked cannot ordinarily
be avoided, but major discrepancies should be discouraged since they raise a doubt as
to the accuracy of the records of the hours actually worked. The employer controls the
workplace and to avoid potential pay issues surrounding time clock punches should not
allow employees to arrive and clock in early for their own convenience. Should
employees arrive before their scheduled starting time and begin their work, or continue
to work after their closing time, they must be paid for that time unless as described in the
following paragraphs.
When a time clock is used, an employee must be allowed to punch in at the time they are
required to report for work and must be allowed to punch out only when they are finished
performing tasks at the end of their shift. If a written time card is used, an employee or
their supervisor must be allowed to record the actual time they are required to report for
work and the time when they are finished performing tasks at the end of their shift.
11.2 Rounding practices. In some industries, particularly where time clocks are used
employers record their employees’ starting time and stopping time by rounding the time
to the nearest 5 minutes, or to the nearest one-tenth or quarter of an hour. Employers
may not utilize recordkeeping systems in which 15-minute segments of work time are not
recorded or paid. When rounding to the nearest quarter-hour, employers must round
based on the 7-minute rule, i.e., when employees are 1 to 7 minutes late, they must be
paid for the entire quarter-hour; if they are 8 to 14 minutes late, payment may begin at
the nearest quarter-hour. If they clock out 7 minutes before the end of their shift, they
must be paid to the end of that shift; if they clock out 8 minutes prior to the end of their
shift, their payment may stop at the nearest quarter-hour.
A system where time is always rounded down is not appropriate. The rounding practice
must work both ways so that sometimes it is rounded up and sometimes it is rounded
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down. Presumably, this arrangement averages out so that the employees are fairly
compensated for all the time they actually work. For enforcement purposes, the
department will accept this practice of computing working time provided that it is used in
such a manner that it will not result, over a period of time, in failure to compensate the
employees properly for all the time they have actually worked.
Rounding practices may be used only with a time clock recordkeeping system or when a
written record keeping system accurately reflects the actual time the employee signed in
before and after the scheduled shift.
EXAMPLE 11.2-1: Time clock rounding: The following chart is provided as an
example of rounding practices based on the 7-minute rule:
CLOCK IN TIME = 7:52 a.m. / PAY AS 7:45 a.m.
7:55 a.m. / PAY AS 8:00 a.m.
8:07 a.m. / PAY AS 8:00 a.m.
8:09 a.m. / PAY AS 8:15 a.m.
8:21 a.m. / PAY AS 8:15 a.m.
8:23 a.m. / PAY AS 8:30 a.m.
CLOCK OUT TIME = 4:51 p.m. / PAY AS 4:45 p.m.
4:54 p.m. / PAY AS 5:00 p.m.
5:07 p.m. / PAY AS 5:00 p.m.
5:09 p.m. / PAY AS 5:15 p.m.
5:22 p.m. / PAY AS 5:15 p.m.
5:24 p.m. / PAY AS 5:30 p.m.
11.3 Rounding is Not Permitted for Meal and Rest Periods. The Washington meal
and rest period requirements found in WAC 296-126-092 require a 30-minute meal
period no later than the end of the fifth working hour, and a 10-minute rest period in each
four-hour working period. Employers cannot round, deduct, or average any time from a
meal or rest period. Examples: 1) If the employee works four minutes into an unpaid 30-
minute meal period, the employer must start the 30-minute meal period from the time the
employee actually stops working; or 2) If an employee’s meal period is from 12:00 p.m.
to 12:30 p.m., and the employee does not start the meal period until 12:04, the
employee does not have to return to work until 12:34 p.m. See Administrative Policy
ES.C.6.1.
12. Employers of Truck and Bus Drivers Subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Act.
In addition to the general recordkeeping requirements under the Minimum Wage Act and WACs,
employers who employ truck and bus drivers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Act are
required to keep specific, additional records. Those records are described in WAC 296-128-011.
Drivers who work for bus and truck employers have a specific right to obtain copies of such
records.
13. Employers of Minors and Other Employers Who May be Authorized to Pay
Subminimum Wage Rates.
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Employers who are subject to a special subminimum wage rate approved by the department are
required to keep specific records with respect to the payment of subminimum wages, including
the certificate granting the right to pay subminimum wage. See WAC 296-128-310. Educational
institutions must keep special records regarding employment of student workers.
14. Failure to comply with Recordkeeping Requirements.
Compliance with recordkeeping requirements is the responsibility of the employer. In the event
of an investigation by the department, an employer’s failure to keep and produce the required
records may result in the department’s acceptance of personal records kept by employees to
determine back wages owed. The failure of an employer to comply with the recordkeeping
requirements set forth in WAC 296-128-010 may also result in the department assessing a civil
penalty against the employer, as detailed at WAC 296-128-830, -840, -850.
