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Is Your Time Clock ADA Compliant?

By Sammy Singh posted 11-20-2019 11:00

  

How does your business handle the timekeeping for your employees’ work hours? Is it a sheet of paper that your employees self-report and submit at the end of each week? Are you one of the lucky ones that have embraced digital time clocks to automate the process? No matter what the process may be, the degree of accuracy for timekeeping is essential for any business to measure payroll hours.

What are the benefits of having a time clock?

Manual timekeeping has posed quite a few problems for businesses because of the lengthy and time-consuming process involved. Not to mention, it is always subject to human error. Are the work hours reported accurately? Can you easily translate employee time data in reports that can help your business resolve potential problems?

The benefits digital time clocks bring will keep these questions away from your mind. Why? Data collection and calculations are automated, eliminating human error. GPS limitations can eliminate employee fraud, whether it be punching in when they aren’t at work or having someone else clock in for them. Lost productivity is expensive and having digital time clocks that gives you access to real time data and reports will be beneficial to avoid potential attendance issues.

The list goes on and on. Though time clocks may bring many benefits to your business, it’s also important that business owners are aware of the guidelines that the Americans with Disabilities Act imposes on these clocks.

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?

The Americans with Disabilities Act was published by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2010. It sets the standard for accessible design and states that all electronic technology such as time clocks must be accessible to people with disabilities. If your business is found to not meet these standards, consequences range from having your time clock taken down or even paying hefty penalties and fines.

Private employers and all state and local government agencies need to comply with these guidelines.

What are the ADA standards for accessible design?

The Americans with Disabilities Act states that all areas which may result in the employment of physically disabled persons must be accessible. This means that employees should be able to easily approach a work area, regardless if they are disabled or not.

For attendance recording equipment such as time clocks, the ADA requires that the clocks be mounted no higher than 48 inches and that the counter space in these areas be no higher than 36 inches above the floor. The locations where the time clocks are mounted should also have no obstructions whether the person accesses it from the front or sideways.

If found in violation of the ADA, businesses can be fined up to $75,000 for the first violation and $150,000 for any subsequent violation.

These guidelines are a reminder that the cost of ensuring that time clocks are ADA compliant outweighs the penalties that come with violating it. Do not wait until a civil lawsuit comes knocking at your (we hope it’s accessible) door.

Originally posted in www.wurknow.com/blog

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