Staying compliant can be complicated. We've got the tools to help!
Note: Check out our support article about HR Pro for additional help staying compliant.
In this article you will find:
Information about time card storage (Timesheets)
Information about applicant storage (Homebase Hiring)
How to set up break rules for employees
How to set up overtime rules for employees
Enable missed break penalties
Information about time card storage
The US department of Labor requires businesses to store employee time card data for up to four years. We store time cards indefinitely on all of our paid plans. We store time card data in case you are audited, have an employee disagreement, or must report the data for other reasons.
Note: on our free Basic Plan, you will able to access time cards for up to three months. You can choose to upgrade to any of our paid plans at any time to access older time card data.
Information about applicant storage
The US department of Labor requires businesses to store applications from potential applicants for up to one year. We store all applicant information indefinitely for free on our Hiring platform, keeping you compliant.
To learn more about Hiring, our job posting platform, please visit our Hiring support article.
How to set up break rules for employees
Ensure your business stays complaint by setting up break rules for your team.
- Sign in to your Homebase account on a computer.
- Select the Settings tab in the top navigation bar.
- Select Breaks & Compliance from the navigation bar on the left.
- Click the drop down to view the break requirements for your state.
- You can add a break rule by clicking Add New Break.
- Enter the break time, if the break is paid or unpaid, and if the break is mandatory or optional.Note: If the break is mandatory the employee’s time card will show a missed break error on the Timesheets page if a break is missed. If the break is optional the employee’s time card won’t reflect if a break is missed.
- Click Save Changes in the upper right corner of the page.
If you're in a state with break rules or mandates, consider turning on our break penalty feature to ensure that you stay compliant.
How to set up overtime rules for employees
Ensure your business stays compliant by setting up overtime rules for your team.
- Sign in to your Homebase account on a computer.
- Select the Settings tab in the top navigation bar.
- Select Overtime from the navigation bar on the left.
- Click the drop down to view overtime requirements for your state.
- Enter your overtime rules.
- Click Save Changes in the upper right corner.
Note: Overtime calculations are automatically done for you and can be seen on the Timesheets page. Be sure to Edit Columns on Timesheets and check on the OT column to view totals.
***On this page you also have the ability to utilize some of our more advanced features including but not limited to: tracking overtime across multiple locations, tracking overtime for salaried employees, etc.
Enable missed break penalties
To enable this feature:
- Sign in to your account.
- Select the Settings tab in the top navigation bar.
- Click Breaks & Compliance in the left navigation bar.
- After selecting your break options, check the box next to "Award additional paid hours for missed breaks."
- Enter the number of hours the employee will receive in pay if a break is missed. (It is recommended to check with your state and local labor laws to confirm the correct settings.)
- Click Save Changes in the upper right corner of the screen to finalize.