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As with all employment and workplace matters, state and local laws may vary, but this answer will apply to most folks in most states.Matters relating to records retention by employers, including wage and hour documents, are covered under federal law and regulated mainly by two government agencies:Statutory authority to impose regulations for record-keeping by employers is granted to the U.S. Department of Labor by law through CFR TITLE 29, Subtitle B, Chapter V, Subchapter A —”REGULATIONS RELATING TO LABOR RECORDS AND RETENTION, WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION, US DEPT. OF LABOR”The shorthand versions of the very wordy CFR designation above are important to remember:The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) andSection 516 (CFR Title 29)FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT:Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covered employers must keep certain records for nonexempt employees, including hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek. To do so, employers may use any time-keeping method, including timesheets, time clocks or automated time-keeping systems. Employers may allow supervisors to keep track of their employees’ work hours, have employees track their own time or both.Under the FLSA, however, employers—not the employees—have the ultimate responsibility to maintain these records. For this reason, employers have the ability to change employee time records but must ensure that the records accurately reflect the time actually worked.Employers May Make Changes to Employee Time Records:There are only certain times when employers should change employee time records. For example, an employee may forget to record his or her start time on a timesheet or forget to punch in on a time clock. In this case, an employer may enter the employee’s time on either record to ensure the employee is paid correctly. Another example is when an employee is out sick. The employer may change the time record to reflect a paid sick day instead of time worked.Rules and Restrictions Governing Employer Alterations to Wage and Hour Records:An employer may not change a time record to show fewer hours than actually worked. For example, an employer may not change an employee’s time record from 48 hours to 40 hours in a workweek in order to avoid overtime payment, even if an employee were to consent to the change.One of the most common lawsuits is the wage and hour lawsuit, where employees claim that employers have not paid them for all hours worked or for owed overtime.Employers found liable may be required to pay damages, including back pay, attorney fees and civil or criminal penalties under both federal and state laws.Employers may also be held personally liable under the FLSA. The FLSA defines an employer as “any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee.”An employer must take measures to minimize time record changes, including:Requiring all employees to record and maintain their own time records.Supervisors may also record or closely monitor hours worked.Employers may hold employees accountable to time-keeping policies and procedures.Employers must prohibit changes to time records unless preapproved and conducted under formal written guidelines;Employers may develop policies prohibiting off-the-clock work, but MUST ensure employees are relieved of all duties during meal periods;Employers are required under federal law (Section 516) to have employees sign and date their own time records, and require employees and employers to acknowledge when changes are made to a time record.When changes, adjustments or modifications are made to a time record:Employers must keep the original record and create a modified record whenever an employee compensation, wage, time collection or payroll documentation is altered in any manner.Both original and the modified payroll records, and all supplemental documentation (emails, notes, memos, policy guidelines, direction or orders from any person involved (employees, management and any non-employed parties) MUST be collected, filed and retained at the place of employment.The records must be filed under payroll and wage regulations, and retained for no less than three years on-site;The relevant documents must also be retained and included in the employee personnel record;Unless exempted or granted a limited waiver under Section 516.31, the employer is statutorily obligated to:Notify the affected employee in writing prior to or upon payment of any wages derived from modified or altered time records. This written notice must:Clearly explain the change to the payroll records, specific hours and dates involved, and the amount of compensation (direct pay and otherwise) lost or deferred. Example: “This alteration affects five hours of time recorded during [dates of pay period]. Your pay for this period has been reduced by $123.32 in the paycheck you will receive on [date].”Provide a reasonable rationale and basis for the alteration, including references to corporate policy and personnel involved in the decision to alter the time records;Provide the affected employee specific guidance and information to dispute the alteration internally;Further provide specific information for the employee to dispute the alteration externally with any and all relevant wage and hour regulatory authorities for all jurisdictions, including state and federal Department of Labor authorities.The employer is obligated to inform the employee that no adverse or retaliatory action will occur shoud the employee dispute the decision and alteration of their pay records, whether by requesting further information; internally disputing the action; or any inquiry, filing or request for assistance related to the action through regulatory mechanisms, complaints, legal advice or utilizing third parties to aid their effort to dispute or clarify the alteration to the payroll records.This notice must be provided to the employee within 72 hours of any alteration. If the employee requests documentation or information about the alteration, the employer must respond and comply with “reasonable and relevant requests” within 72 hours of receipt of any written or verbal inquiry by the employee;Any agency, regulatory entity, auditing authority or party with statutory jurisdiction may request any and all records from the employer necessary to investigate any dispute. Employers must grant physical access to on-site records upon demand, and comply with written records requests within 72 hours of receipt by employer.They may alter an original time record by marking a line through the error on the original time record, make the correction, and have both the employer and employee sign and date the change. The employee is not obligated to sign or acknowledge any alteration if they disagree or wish to dispute the change.WHAT THE FLSA REQUIRES EMPLOYERS TO RETAIN AND RECORD:Every employer covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must keep certain records for each covered, nonexempt worker. There is no required form for the records, but the records must include:Accurate information about the employee, including full name; ID or employee number; location worked; and document serialization or unique record ID for all records associated with the assignment, recording and payment for time worked;Specific, detailed description of all hours worked for each pay period: full date, start time, end time, as well as the period and duration of any mandated breaks during a work shift (lunch; dinner; 15-minute breaks; etc.).The hourly wage earned for each hour and each shift of each day within the pay period that record the duration and pattern of hours worked daily, weekly and in total for the pay period.This ensures that employees are compensated for Working Overtime (something many employers try to avoid, since overtime compensation is typically 150% or 200% of the employee base hourly wage.)These records are provided to state and federal “wage and hour” regulatory agencies to prevent employers from imposing unfair or unsafe shift durations, as well as safeguarding against “shift-shifting” that would deprive you of overtime. Typically, overtime applies to each hour worked beyond 40 hours in a week. In some cases, overtime applies when more than 8 hours are worked in a daily shift.The pay period must be defined in advance, implemented consistently, and applied uniformly for all employees.Pay periods usually cover two weeks (10 work days), and paychecks are usually issued within a week of the end of the pay period: MTWTF + MTWTF of work should be paid by the next Friday.Some employers use one-week pay periods (5 work days), and pay employees the following week.While rare, employers may pay employees on a monthly cycle. This tends to apply to sales or commission-based employment, or where compensation is tied to performance goals. Car dealerships, insurance agencies, real estate agents and some financial services businesses operate on 30 day pay periods (20 work days).Labor laws are a little vague beyond the requirement for work periods to be consistent: the rules for when you are paid tend to use language like “within a reasonable timeframe” or “without unnecessary delay”, but those are relative terms.EMPLOYEES ENTITLED TO RECORDS RETAINED BY EMPLOYER:Time Sheets, timecards, and documentation of employee hours claimed (and detailed records for any adjustment by employers of these materials) must include:Employee's full name, sex (male/female), and social security number;Business and employee primary address, including zip code;Birth date, if younger than 19;The specific employee occupation using standardized Department of Labor Job Titles or category codes;Time and day of week when employee's workweek begins:Hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek.Basis on which employee's wages are paid (hourly; hourly with commission; commission-plus; tip workers; salaried; bonus structure or performance-based incentives; non-cash compensation and/or fringe benefits);Regular hourly pay rate;Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings;Total overtime earnings for the workweek (or the prevailing period in which regular hours become overtime hours);All taxes, withholdings, dues or deductions from the employee's wages, itemized and described in detail. (“Other” or “Deducted” are not allowed; language like “Four Hours Paid Vacation Time / Memorial Day” or “employee applied 6.5 hours vacation time on [date]” should be used wherever common terms are not applicable (FICA, 401(k), withholding, etc.)Total wages paid each pay period;Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment.EMPLOYMENT RECORDS RETENTIONEmployers must retain physical documentation at the site of employment for at least 24 months. Archived, microfiche, scanned or digitized records in searchable format and retrievable by record ID for at least 36 months.Standard accounting rules require these records to be retained for at least 60 months. Any record considered material to a dispute, investigation, audit or legal action may not be removed, destroyed or otherwise omitted in accordance with all statutory retention laws, rules and practices.So that is the law. Here are some resources:US Employment LawDepartment of Labor and EmploymentU.S. Wage and Hour DivisionWages and Hourly WagesWage and Hour DisputesNolo Press (information about the law for non-lawyers)Unpaid WagesUnder what circumstances should one elect to sue a business for unpaid wages rather than file a wage claim with the state?