So I knew time keeping was not quite right and my direct manager didn't fully understand the time clock rounding. This most evidently came up when time punches similar to 12:15-5:00 calculated to 4.5 hours.
So after some digging I found my employer actually rounds to the tenth of an hour, or 6 minutes. BUT start mid 2022 payroll also started rounding off ANY time entered before the scheduled start time as it is set by the manager in the time clock system.
I explicitly emailed payroll about the 12:15-5:00 punch and they explicitly confirmed this is because I was scheduled to start at 12:30 so the time was rounded off.
I previously *spoke* with my manager about it being ok to arrive early and clock in early to begin work. Personally I like being on time and I'd rather clock in and get paid when I arrive early then mess around on my phone for 10 minutes.
Today I emailed to confirm the expectation with my manager that they want us to arrive early and if we want to clock in and work that's okay.
I have time clock receipts as well as all these email receipts on my personal machine already – not messing around with that.
So the question here is how to proceed. I'm otherwise pretty happy with my employment and making more than I ever had before in my life ($60k). I'm also looking at moving to another role that fits my career interests within the company.
How can I ask for back pay without them wanting to get rid of me?
Edit: I forgot to mention I also checked the employee handbook and there is ZERO guidance on clocking in before your shift.
TL;DR: I have receipts of wage theft. Specifically rounding off any clock-in early time. I want to stay with my employer but also get back pay. How do I pull that off?