An employer may legally round the actual clock in and out times for workers to the nearest 10th or 4th of an hour so long as the rounding doesn’t overall disadvantage workers. This decision holds that a compliant rounding of time can be applied to the timing and length of a meal and rest breaks as well as the total length of the workday for which the employee must be paid. So if the employer uses a compliant rounding policy to a tenth of the hour, workers cannot show a violation of the meal and rest breaks laws and wage orders if the meal and rest breaks occur within the required times, as rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour and last for the required time as also rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour.
California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1 (Irion, J.); November 21, 2018; 29 Cal. App. 5th 1068