If someone brings a compensation-related lawsuit against your ministry, accurate records can help confirm what happened. While it’s a good idea to keep records about all employees, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to maintain at least the following information for all non-exempt employees:
Employee’s full name, Social Security number, and address
Birth date (if younger than 19), gender, and occupation
Time and day of week when employee’s workweek begins
Hours worked each day
Total hours worked each workweek
Basis on which employee’s wages are paid (e.g., $9 per hour or $440 per week)
Regular hourly pay rate
Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
Total overtime earnings for the workweek
All additions to or deductions from the employee’s wages
Total wages paid each pay period
Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment
There’s no government-mandated form for these records, but the law requires that the data be accurate. In addition, certain records must be kept for specific amounts of time. For example, employers must retain payroll records, collective bargaining agreements, and sales and purchase records for at least three years. State or local laws could require a longer retention period. Because these records contain employees’ personal information, be sure to store the records in a secure location.
To get started, download Document Retention Schedule from Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company®.
Brotherhood Works would be happy to help you with challenges associated with payroll. We offer payroll services for churches and related ministries, including payroll processing, payroll tax filing and reporting, time and attendance features, and workers’ compensation audit assistance.
The information in this article is intended to be helpful, but it does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice from a licensed attorney in your area. We strongly encourage you to regularly consult with a local attorney as part of your risk management program.
