Record Retention Rules For The Fair Labor Standards Act

5/14/2026

Every covered employer must retain certain records for each nonexempt employee.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that payroll records include certain identifying information about the employee, including data about the hours worked and the wages paid. The law requires this information to be accurate.

The basic records that an employer must retain include:

• Employee's full name and social security number
• Address, including zip code
• 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., "$8.00 an hour", "$320.00 per week", "piecework")
• Regular 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