Under Connecticut law, employers of hourly workers have to keep the following records:
* The employee’s name and address.
* The employee’s occupation.
* The total daily and total weekly hours worked, showing the beginning and ending time of each work period, computed to the nearest unit of 15 minutes.
* The total hourly, daily or weekly basic wage.
* The overtime wage as a separate item from the basic wage.
* Additions to, or deductions from, wages each pay period.
* Total wages paid each pay period.
* Working papers/statements of age for each employee under the age of 18.
Your employer further must maintain a personnel file for you regardless of whether you are an hourly or a salaried worker, containing all documents used in making decisions about your employment (e.g., written discipline or a performance evaluation showing you get a raise). Medical information may be kept elsewhere, for example, if you go out on FMLA leave.
Federal law requires that employers keep similar records to those required by Connecticut law, but with some additions (e.g., an I-9 form regarding your legal right to work in the U.S.) See www.dol.gov.
If your employer fails to keep these records, this can cause problems for you. For example, if you believe you have been paid improperly, it’s difficult to show that if there are no records of the hours that you worked. This is the reasoning behind the law. If your employer does fail to maintain proper records, he or she may be subject to a civil fine (for a personnel violation) or have to accept the employee’s estimate for hours worked in a lawsuit for wages.