Virtual TimeClock '13 Release 2

The new Virtual TimeClock release is now available. It's got some great new features that our customers have been asking for, like tracking the complicated overtime and overnight shift rules required in some states. Here are some of the highlights:

• Track the complicated 6th and 7th day overtime rules required by states like California.
• Report hours for overnight shifts according to the rules of your state.
• New timecard report summarizes worker daily time and activities on a single line.
• New Report Writer options to include workers with no hours.
• Report layout changes make timecard reports even easier to read.
• Faster importing of users from QuickBooks or a CSV file.

You can read the full press release for Virtual TimeClock '13 Release 2 at Virtual TimeClock Simplifies Employee Overtime Tracking.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Specialist
Redcort Software Inc.

When Is Labor Day?

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. Even though Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday in 1887, it didn't become a federal holiday until 1894 when the United States Congress unanimously voted to approve legislation to make it a national holiday, following the deaths of about 30 workers at the hands of the US military during the Pullman Strike. President Grover Cleveland signed it into law less than a week after the end of the strike.

The purpose of Labor Day is to celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers. Ironically, Labor Day has become an important sale weekend for many retailers in the United States wanting to take advantage of large numbers of potential customers free to shop. Some retailers claim it is one of the largest sale dates of the year, second only to the Christmas season's Black Friday.

Need to find your next day off? Check our handy business holiday calendar.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Manager
Redcort Software, Inc.

Customizing Employee Time Cards

At the heart of all employee time clock software programs is the ability to access employee time and attendance information for payroll, labor costing, and even client billing. If gathering the information you need to effectively manage your business is a burden or the result of redundant processes, then you're less likely to experience the time and cost saving advantages of automating your time tracking process in the first place. A good time clock system will be backed by a powerful and efficient SQL database engine and built-in report writer that will make gathering and using your time and attendance data a breeze.

To see how Virtual TimeClock accomplishes this, check out our online article Customizing Employee Time Cards.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Manager
Redcort Software, Inc.

Does Apple Need to Think Different About Its Time and Attendance Policies?

Most of you have heard by now about Apple's trouble with some former retail store employees who have filed a class action lawsuit for lost wages. Apple has a retail store policy that requires employees to have their personal bags checked by managers for stolen property before leaving the store for breaks, lunches, and at the end of their shift. Apparently, employees sometimes have to wait for as long as 15 minutes after they've already clocked out for this to happen. The former employees claim a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well as other state labor laws because they consider this a mandatory job function which they should be compensated for. The lawsuit could potentially affect thousands of employees going back more than 10 years. The central question becomes what constitutes compensable time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Apple employees claim they are clocking out and then "engaged to wait" which should be compensable time.

I don't know what Apple's doing for time and attendance tracking, but it would sure be easy to set up a networked time clock by each entrance and just let employees punch out after the mandatory search has been completed. Or even better, have the manager clock the employee out when the search is done.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Manager
Redcort Software, Inc.

New York City Requires Paid Sick Leave

New York City has become the latest place to require employers to provide paid sick leave benefits for employees. New York City may not be the first place this has happened, but it is the most populous. New York City joins Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, and the state of Connecticut in requiring employers to provide paid time off for employee illness. The new law will go into effect in 2014 for employers with 20 or more workers and at a later date for smaller employers.

Those in favor of the new law cite studies that have shown companies that provide paid sick days to employees tend to have lower turnover, lower costs of hiring new employees, fewer employee absences, and better productivity. They argue that when workers don’t take time off when starting to get ill, they often end up taking longer absences as their condition worsens. Also, when employees come to work with contagious illnesses, they spread them to co-workers, increasing absences and lowering the productivity of other workers.

If you're looking for an easy way to accrue and track paid sick leave benefits, check out our free time clock software demo.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Manager
Redcort Software, Inc.

Managing Labor Costs with Employee Time Clock Software

In a tough economy many business owners are asking themselves a common question: How can I better manage my labor costs? It's pretty obvious to see how employee time clock software simplifies payroll and provides employee accountability. A less obvious benefit is how time clock software brings simplicity and accuracy to the management of labor costs.

To find out what questions to ask to help you evaluate your labor cost management needs, take a look at our online article Managing Labor Costs with Employee Time Clock Software.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Manager
Redcort Software, Inc.

Time Clocks for Off-Site Employees

Many businesses have off-site employees that rarely enter an office. Or they may start out from an office or equipment yard and then spend the rest of the day out in the field, and usually go straight home after their last appointment or job. We're currently working on a mobile time clock that will work with a wide variety of smartphones or tablets, including the iPhone and iPad. In the meantime, using laptops with wireless Internet cards are a great solution for off-site employees.

A wireless Internet card and data plan from your wireless carrier will let you access the Internet from anywhere your carrier provides coverage. With regular WiFi you need to be within range of a WiFi hot spot to get connectivity to the Internet.

Another alternative is a MiFi, now available with certain carriers. A MiFi has a built-in wireless Internet card and allows multiple computers to connect simultaneously to the internet via WiFi. Think of it as a mobile hotspot you can control.

Just because our mobile time clock isn't quite ready, don't let that keep you from tracking off-site employee time by combining our networked time clock system with one of these other solutions.

Jeff Morrow
Virtual TimeClock Product Manager
Redcort Software, Inc.