If an employer in the above scenario does pay its nonexempt employees for an additional hour of work, it might be on the hook for overtime compensation as well. To avoid this, employers could alter the start or end times of these nonexempt employees' shifts on Nov 1. twice (and that "extra" hour will carry over throughout the remainder of the shift). This is because federal law requires employers to pay employees for all hours worked, and these employees will have essentially worked the hour from 1 a.m. 1, when that time becomes 1 a.m., may be required to pay these employees for one additional hour of work-if, in fact, the time change extends the number of hours actually worked. to 2 a.m.?Įmployers whose nonexempt employees are in the midst of a shift at 2 a.m. The adaptation was not a fast process, but incorporating clocks into everyday life drastically changed the way human beings perceive their reality and arrange their life.As most of us prepare to set our clocks back one hour this weekend, here are a few wage and hour considerations for employers.ġ.
It was during the 16th century that a more significant cultural shift happened. The clock became a symbol, a reference for how institutions should work, and time was treated as something that could be wasted or lost, even indicating the monetary cost of time. Still, towards the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century, people started to use the clock to synchronize and coordinate various labor activities, town meetings, and such. The application of mechanical clocks for economic purposes was a rather slow adaptation. The mechanical clock started spreading through various cities in Europe as of the beginning of the 14th century, such as England, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and many others. Before the Middle Ages, people had to use the sun or other unreliable sources for time management. The Cultural Importance Of Time Synchronizationīefore the invention of the mechanical clock, there was no possibility for a precise measurement of time.
It is a process that, in a way, defined urban existence and changed the public perception of time as a commodity. This advancement enabled enormous synchronization of activities, something that was not seen or experienced ever before. This device successfully translated the movement of time through the movement of space due to the dial of the clock and moving hands. The appreciation of these habits soon led to the invention of a mechanical clock. They would use the ringing of the bell as a call for prayer, a means, and a symbol for structuring human behavior. Christian monasteries created an environment of order and familiarity to battle the outside threat caused by the fall of the Roman Empire. The social and cultural influence of the clock can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Mechanical clocks enabled people to measure time in ways that were not possible before, and because of it, our lives were changed forever. It is the mechanical clock, and according to many historians, it was the clock that changed everything and deserves to be called as the key factor of the industrial age. However, there is an invention that is equally (if not even more) important and mentioned far less.
People often emphasize the importance of inventing the television, the personal computer, the rise of the Internet as technological advancements that changed the world.