Time Punch Validation with California Break Laws

Employers are able to track break compliance, as well as capture employee validations of time punches and rest/discretionary breaks, upon clock out. 

To Activate California Break Tracking

Go to  Settings 

Scroll to Other Settings. Check Use California Break Rules, and Save All Changes

Additionally, if an employer has WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION from ALL EMPLOYEES that their discretionary 30-min breaks are waived (i.e. shift length > 5 hours, but < 6 hours), then the Auto-Waive discretionary 30-min breaks box can be checked. (This selection removes the discretionary break from the time punch validation, and assumes that there is NO violation.)

Next choose the preferred behavior settings PER LOCATION or DEPARTMENT

From the Settings page, scroll to Locations 

Check Require Employee Validation on Clock-Out, to require employees to verify the accuracy of their time punch, and confirm that mandatory breaks were made available, upon clock-out. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CHECK THIS. If this is not checked, employees must take the initiative validate time-punch accuracy from their dashboard, prior to the end of the payroll period.



Optional: Check Require Manager Verification (see previous image) If this options is checked, then, when an employee indicates that they were NOT offered mandatory breaks, they must find a manager to proceed with the entry! This actively engages management to be constantly aware of potential break violations, real-time. The manager must enter their credentials into the time-punch verification, to indicate that they were made aware of the violation!

Monitoring Violations

Managers can spot violations right from the schedule

Managers Can View Validation Statuses and Details from the Daily Summary

From the schedule hyperlink or daily summary report, managers can see:

  • If employee has "validated" their time punch
  • If there is a break violation (30-min / or 10-min)
  • The time punch detail can be viewed by pressing the Punch Verification button

Additionally, the Punch Verification can be opened from the schedule, by clicking on the "V

Employees are likewise able to view their punch validations from their dashboard, and if any violations exist.

The Daily Summary Report can be filtered on break violations across a time period, or a location or employee. 

The constant status-awareness available to employers and employees is intended to reduce the possibility of break rule non-compliance

Other behavioral note

If an employer edits an time punch that has been previously validated, its status is changed to not-validated

Break violations in Payroll Reports

Break violations show in payroll, in a Break Violation column. Note that there is a maximum of two possible violations per day: one for 30-min break violations, and one for 10-min break violations.


NOTE: There is also an option to require a re-validation of a time punch that has been edited by a manager. 

To engage, select "Require Employee Approval of All Punches"

Employees will be prompted to validate the manger's edit upon their next clock-in, or can validate from their dashboard. 

Manager's will see approval status from Daily Summary / Approval reports