Time Clock Rounding After Camp v. Home Depot: Every Minute Counts

For decades employers rounded punches to the nearest quarter hour. California courts have now made clear that when the system captures exact minutes, workers must be paid for exact minutes.

What California Law Says

Camp v. Home Depot held that an employer using timekeeping that records actual minutes cannot shave them through neutral rounding. Combined with Troester’s rejection of the de minimis defense, systematic minute-shaving is a compensable claim across the workforce.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. Request your raw punch data in writing — you are entitled to inspect your time records.
2. Compare actual punches to paid time, punch by punch.
3. Total the shaved minutes over the claim period; a few minutes per shift becomes dozens of hours.
4. Check whether the lost minutes pushed days past 8 hours for overtime purposes.
5. Demand the difference and file if refused.

Common Questions

The rounding sometimes favored me. Doesn’t that make it legal?

Not under current California law where actual time was captured — payment must match the recorded minutes.

My employer edits punches after the fact. What do I do?

Punch editing without your verification is powerful evidence; save any before-and-after screenshots and raise it in your claim.