Ann Kiernan replies:
No! Federal labor law allows an employer to round employee time to the nearest quarter hour. Employee time from 1 to 7 minutes may be rounded down, and thus not counted as hours worked, but employee time from 8 to 14 minutes must be rounded up and counted as a quarter hour of work time.
So, you should not be docked for being 5 minutes late, but can be docked for 15 minutes if you are more than 7 minutes late.
Posted 03-27-2019
Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.