Affected employers will no doubt have a variety of wage-hour questions in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. The number and scope of the issues raised might well be practically endless. In this post, we address in very general ways the federal Fair Labor Standards Act topics that experience suggests will be among the most-pressing.

? What do we do about lost time records for work already performed but not yet paid?

If the only records of hours worked are lost or unusable, then there is no perfect solution. Re-create the most accurate accounting you can under the circumstances. Perhaps the preferred approach is to ask each employee to make the best-possible estimate of his or her hours worked. You should obtain the employee's written acknowledgement of his or her best recollection and should include the employee's authorization allowing later corrections in worktime and pay should more accurate hours-worked information become available.

? How do we track employees' worktime without our electronic/computerized time clocks?

Employees may record all hours worked by using handwritten timesheets. To ensure accuracy, each employee should enter his or her own time and should record the actual times when the employee's work starts and stops each workday.