What does it mean to clock out?

To clock out is to record the time you stop working, at the end of a shift or before an unpaid meal break. That one punch decides how many hours are paid.

In shortClocking out is the act of recording the end of a work period in a timekeeping system, by app, kiosk, web or physical time clock. For hourly employees, the clock-out time together with the clock-in time determines hours worked and so pay and overtime. Federal rules treat work that the employer suffers or permits as work time even if it was not requested (29 CFR 785.11), so an employee who clocks out and keeps working is still on the clock in the eyes of the law. Clocking out for a meal break is only meaningful if the break is a bona fide meal period: under 29 CFR 785.19(a), ordinarily 30 minutes or more with the employee completely relieved from duty.

Rounding at clock-out

Many employers round punch times. Under 29 CFR 785.48(b), rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, or to the nearest tenth or quarter of an hour, is accepted if, over a period of time, it does not result in failing to pay employees for time they actually worked. In practice that means rounding has to go both ways.

To record clock-ins, breaks and overtime automatically, see EZTime time and attendance software.

With quarter-hour rounding, a clock-out at 5:07 rounds to 5:00, and one at 5:08 rounds to 5:15. A policy that always rounds clock-out down, or that rounds both ends but lets employees clock out only after a manager’s sign-off, tends to shave time in one direction. Try your own numbers with the time clock rounding calculator.

Rounding to the nearest quarter hour moves some punches back and some forward.

Worked example: the work after the punch

Closing a store

A retail store’s closing crew is told to clock out at 9:00 when the doors lock. Counting the drawer and taking out the trash happens after that, usually about 12 minutes.

4 people times 12 minutes is 48 minutes a night, or 5.6 hours a week over 7 closings. At $17 an hour, that is about $95 a week in unpaid straight time, before any overtime it pushes over 40 hours, and it adds up to about $4,950 a year for one store. Under 29 CFR 785.13, a rule against working off the clock is not enough; management has to make sure the work is not done if it does not want to pay for it.

The fix is simple: clock-out moves to after the closing tasks, and the closing checklist ends with the punch.

Missed clock-outs

A forgotten clock-out leaves an open shift that someone has to fix. The cleanest process is for the employee to submit the actual end time, a manager to approve it, and the system to keep a trail of who changed what. In EZTime, employees can submit a missed-punch request that a manager approves, with an audit trail, and clock out by mobile app, web, kiosk or NFC tag.

Mistakes that are specific to clocking out

Asking staff to clock out and then finish closing tasks.
Rounding that only ever moves clock-out earlier.
Auto-deducting a meal break even on days the employee worked through it.
Managers editing a missed clock-out to the scheduled end time without asking the employee.
Letting clock-out happen at a location far from the job without a policy that says when that is allowed.

Clocking out for breaks and leaving the site

Short rest breaks, usually 5 to 20 minutes, are paid time, so most employers do not ask people to clock out for them. Meal breaks of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid only if the employee is completely relieved from duty. If a meal break is interrupted by work, the time is paid, and the record should show it.

When employees leave the site during a shift for their own reasons, such as a personal errand, they should clock out and back in. When they leave for work reasons, such as a supply run, they stay on the clock.

Second example: an interrupted lunch

A front desk agent at a hotel clocks out for a 30-minute lunch at 12:00. At 12:10 a guest arrives with a problem and she helps for 8 minutes, then finishes her lunch.

Because she was not completely relieved from duty, the whole 30-minute break is paid. She clocks back in at 12:30 and tells her manager about the interruption, who records it with the time, and payroll pays the full 30 minutes. In states with meal break penalties, the hotel also checks whether a premium is owed.

Look at the last 10 minutesPull a month of clock-out times and plot the minutes past the scheduled end. A spike exactly on the schedule end with almost nothing after it usually means people are punching on time and working afterward, not that every shift ends on the minute.

Questions people ask

Do you have to clock out for lunch?

If the meal break is unpaid, yes, and it should be a real break: ordinarily 30 minutes or more with the employee completely relieved from duty. State rules may add requirements.

Is rounding clock-out times legal?

Rounding to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes is accepted under federal rules if it is neutral over time and does not result in unpaid work. Some states are stricter.

What happens if an employee forgets to clock out?

The record needs a correction with the actual end time, ideally submitted by the employee and approved by a manager, with a record of the change.

Can an employer make you work after clocking out?

Time spent working is work time whether or not the employee is on the clock, so it must be paid.

Do you have to clock out for short breaks?

Usually not. Short rest breaks of 5 to 20 minutes are paid time under federal rules.

Should employees clock out when they leave the site during a shift?

For personal reasons, yes. For work reasons, such as a supply run, they stay on the clock.

Related on EZTime

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Disclaimer: This explanation of clock out is general information, not legal, payroll or tax advice; rules differ by state and city and change over time, and the examples are fictional.