Time tracking and US labor law
A summary of the rules that matter most for time tracking in the US: hours, recordkeeping, and biometric and location data.
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Important
Biometric privacy laws apply to facial recognition
States such as Illinois (BIPA), Texas (CUBI), Washington and Colorado regulate employee biometric data, and New York, Connecticut and Delaware require written notice before electronic monitoring such as GPS. Alobri Time lets you capture and store written employee consent.
Legal framework
What the law says
| Hours and overtime | The FLSA sets no maximum workweek for adults. Non-exempt employees earn overtime at 1.5x after 40 hours per week; California and some other states also require daily overtime. No federal changes in 2025-2026. |
|---|---|
| Recordkeeping | FLSA, 29 CFR Part 516: employers must record hours worked each workday and workweek, regular pay rate, overtime, deductions and payments (§516.2). Payroll records are kept 3 years (§516.5); time cards and supplementary records, 2 years (§516.6). |
| Electronic systems | No federal certification. Electronic records are allowed if accurate and accessible. Some states, such as California, have specific rules on time rounding and meal breaks. |
| Biometric and privacy laws | There is no general federal privacy law; biometric data is regulated by state law. Illinois BIPA (740 ILCS 14) requires a public retention policy, notice and a written release before capturing biometrics, with a private right of action, and its 2024 amendment (SB 2979) limits liability to one violation per person; Texas CUBI (Bus. & Com. Code §503.001) requires notice, consent and destruction within one year, and Washington (RCW 19.375) and Colorado (C.R.S. §6-1-1314, applicable to employers since July 1, 2025) also regulate biometrics. The California CPRA covers employee data since January 1, 2023 and treats precise geolocation as sensitive, while New York (Civil Rights Law §52-c), Connecticut (§31-48d) and Delaware (19 Del. C. §705) require written notice before electronic monitoring. |
How Alobri Time helps
- Every punch stored with date, time, location, method and edits.
- Configurable overtime, break and schedule rules by site and shift.
- Written consent capture for facial recognition and location, stored per employee.
- Exportable reports and retention set by your company.
Sources
- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-516
- https://www.bclplaw.com/en-US/insights/us-biometric-laws-and-pending-legislation-tracker.html
- https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/employment-law-compliance/implications-for-employers-of-colorado-s-new-biometrics-law
This content is informational and is not legal advice. Laws change; validate your situation with your advisor. Reviewed: .
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