The Mailbag.

• Position: Letter to the editor

Can we dock pay for punching in late? Does the employee have a grace period?

Q Is there a rule for docking someone's pay if he punches in late, and if so, how many minutes grace time does he get before you dock him 15 minutes?

A First, you may not dock pay for exempt employees in the way you describe. If an exempt employee clocks in late, you may discipline him/her under your company policies, but you may not dock his/her pay.

Assuming the question pertains only to nonexempt employees, you only need pay employees for their actual hours worked. For example, if nonexempt employees clock in 15 minutes late, you do not need to pay them for those 15 minutes.

It sounds as if your question is also asking about "rounding" practices. In some industries...