Tips to Boost Employee Records Organization

If someone brings a compensation-related lawsuit against your ministry, accurate records can help confirm what happened. While it’s a good idea to keep records about all employees, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to maintain at least the following information for all non-exempt employees:

• Employee’s full name, Social Security number, and address

• Birth date (if younger than 19), gender, and occupation

• Time and day of week when employee’s workweek begins

• Hours worked each day

• Total hours worked each workweek

• Basis on which employee’s wages are paid (e.g., $9 per hour or $440 per week)

• Regular hourly pay rate

• Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings

• Total overtime earnings for the workweek

• All additions to or deductions from the employee’s wages

• Total wages paid each pay period

• Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment

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There’s no government-mandated form for these records, but the law requires that the data be accurate. In addition, certain records must be kept for specific amounts of time. For example, employers must retain payroll records, collective bargaining agreements, and sales and purchase records for at least three years. State or local laws could require a longer retention period. Because these records contain employees’ personal information, be sure to store the records in a secure location.

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To get started, download Document Retention Schedule from Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company®. MinistryWorks® by Brotherhood Mutual® would be happy to help you with challenges associated with payroll. We offer payroll services for churches and related ministries, including payroll processing, payroll tax filing and reporting, time and attendance features, and workers’ compensation audit assistance.

The information in this article is intended to be helpful, but it does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice from a licensed attorney in your area. We strongly encourage you to regularly consult with a local attorney as part of your risk management program.