NEMT driver timesheet: daily hours, breaks, and wait time on one sheet
Overview
Use one weekly sheet per driver with a row for each day: the van, clock in and out, any unpaid meal, any gap when the driver was released from duty, trips completed, and hours worked. Federal rules require hours for each workday and each workweek for every non-exempt employee, and time cards are kept for two years.
On this page
Print one sheet per driver for each workweek and have the driver fill in a row each day. It holds what federal wage rules ask every employer to keep for a non-exempt driver, the hours worked each workday and the total for each workweek (29 CFR 516.2(a)(7)). It also holds the details that decide whether a gap in the day is paid, which are meals and time off duty, and the trip count for drivers paid per trip. The driver timekeeping guide explains the rules behind these records and how phone clock-ins replace paper. The overtime guide covers what to do with the weekly total.
The weekly timesheet
One sheet covers one driver for one workweek. Write the day and hour your workweek begins at the top of the sheet, because federal rules ask for the time of day and the day of the week on which each employee’s workweek starts (29 CFR 516.2(a)(5)).
Heading
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Driver | |
| Employee ID | |
| Workweek begins (day and hour) | |
| Week of | |
| How the driver is paid (hour, day, or trip) |
Daily record
| Day and date | Van | In | Meal out | Meal in | Released (from to) | Out | Trips | Hours | Initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | |||||||||
| Tue | |||||||||
| Wed | |||||||||
| Thu | |||||||||
| Fri | |||||||||
| Sat | |||||||||
| Sun |
Example (made up, for illustration only):
| Day and date | Van | In | Meal out | Meal in | Released (from to) | Out | Trips | Hours | Initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Oct 6 | 4 | 6:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 11:30 AM | 2:30 PM | 14 | 8:00 | D.M. | |
| Thu Oct 8 | 4 | 5:45 AM | 9:20 AM to 1:00 PM | 5:15 PM | 12 | 7:50 | D.M. |
On Thursday the driver is on the clock from 5:45 AM to 5:15 PM, which is 11 hours 30 minutes. Dispatch told the driver at 9:05 AM, before the gap began, to be back at 1:00 PM. The 3 hours 40 minutes between 9:20 and 1:00 comes off, so the day’s hours are 7 hours 50 minutes.
Weekly total and signatures
| Check | Entry |
|---|---|
| Total hours for the week | |
| Hours over 40 | |
| Days over 8 hours (for states with daily overtime) | |
| Split-shift days | |
| Corrections made this week |
| Statement | Signature and date |
|---|---|
| Driver: I recorded all the time I worked this week, including vehicle checks, waits, and paperwork. | |
| Reviewed by |
What to write in each column
Write the actual minute for each event and leave a box empty when that event did not happen.
- Day and van. The date and the unit number of the van the driver took, so hours and miles come from the same shift.
- In. The minute the driver starts the first task for the company, which for most drivers is the van walk-around. Getting equipment ready is part of the work, and the regulation’s example is a lathe operator who oils and cleans the machine at the start of the day (29 CFR 785.24). When drivers must report to your lot first, the drive from the lot to the first pickup is also hours worked (29 CFR 785.38).
- Meal out and meal in. Fill these only when the driver was fully off duty to eat. A break of 30 minutes or more usually qualifies. If the driver has to watch the app or take a call from dispatch while eating, the meal is work (29 CFR 785.19). If a trip came in during lunch, write that time and treat the meal as over at that minute.
- Released. Fill this only for a gap that meets the off-duty test. A driver parked at the clinic and subject to a call for the return is on duty, because idle time like that is engaged to wait under 29 CFR 785.15. A gap is off duty only when the driver is told ahead of time that they may leave, knows the hour work resumes, and has enough time to use for their own purposes (29 CFR 785.16), so write the release time and the return time dispatch gave.
- Out. The minute the last task ends, including the return to the lot, fueling, and finishing trip notes.
- Trips. The count of completed trips. When pay is per trip, the daily count is a record that sets pay, and federal rules keep it two years like the time card (29 CFR 516.6(a)(1)). Billing a payer for waiting is a separate matter from paying the driver for it, and the wait time entry covers the billing side.
- Hours. Out minus In, minus the meal, minus released time, written in hours and minutes. Add the seven days for the weekly total.
- Initials. The driver initials the row on the day, before going home, while the times are fresh.
Short breaks do not get a column. A coffee or restroom stop of roughly 5 to 20 minutes is hours worked, and federal rules do not allow it to be offset against other paid time (29 CFR 785.18).
Meal period rules some states add
Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks, but several states require a meal period, and where one applies the sheet needs a meal entry every day. Four examples show how different the rules are:
| State | When a meal period is required | Length and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | A 7.5-hour shift, and again for each added 4.5 continuous hours | At least 20 minutes, starting no later than 5 hours into the shift |
| Massachusetts | Work of more than 6 hours in a calendar day | At least 30 minutes |
| Nevada | A continuous period of 8 hours | At least one-half hour |
| New York | A shift of more than 6 hours that runs through the midday meal period, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 30 minutes at midday; 45 minutes midway for a shift over 6 hours that starts between 1 p.m. and 6 a.m. |
New York also gives a 20-minute break between 5 and 7 p.m. to an employee whose shift starts before 11 a.m. and continues past 7 p.m. (Labor Law 162). Nevada’s rule adds a rest period of 10 minutes for each 4 hours or major fraction of 4 hours, which counts as hours worked, so it is never subtracted (NRS 608.019). These laws say when a break must be offered, and each has exemptions, so read the full text for your state. Under federal law a meal is unpaid time only when the driver is completely relieved of duty (29 CFR 785.19), and a state can add stricter pay rules.
California and Washington add their own meal and rest rules, covered in the timekeeping guide. Your state labor department has the current rule for any other state, and the Labor Department keeps a table of state meal period laws as a starting point.
Split shifts and long gaps on the sheet
Each block of a split shift needs its own start and stop, not just the first and last times of the day. The Thursday row above shows the pattern: the gap goes in the Released column with both times, and the day’s hours exclude it. Some states pay extra for a split day or a long spread, and the split shift entry explains how they count it. New York also requires its weekly payroll records to show arrival and departure times for an employee on a split shift or whose day spans more than 10 hours (12 NYCRR 142-2.6).
Corrections, signatures, and how long to keep the sheet
Keep every signed sheet at least two years after its last entry (29 CFR 516.6(a)(1)). The payroll records behind it have their own periods, and New York requires weekly payroll records for not less than six years (12 NYCRR 142-2.6). Part 516 prescribes no particular form of records (29 CFR 516.1), so a printed sheet or software both work as long as the required information is complete.
Fix an error without hiding it:
- Draw one line through the wrong time. Do not erase or write over it.
- Write the right time beside it with the date, the reason, and the initials of the person who changed it.
- Have the driver initial the correction.
- Keep the sheet with the week’s trip records, so the two can be compared.
A driver who forgot to write a time puts down the real one and a manager approves it. The time is paid either way. A signature shows the driver reviewed the week. It does not turn unrecorded work into unpaid work, because management cannot sit back and accept the benefit of work without paying for it (29 CFR 785.13).
Clocking in on the phone instead
Drivers on HealthRide do not fill in times by hand. They start and end each shift in the driver app, and the start records the van, the vehicle check, and the odometer reading. The reports add up each driver’s hours and miles for any week from those real clock-ins and GPS records.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the driver have to sign the timesheet?
- Part 516 does not list a signature among the records to keep. It asks for the hours worked each workday and each workweek and prescribes no form. A weekly signature still helps, because it shows the driver reviewed the week while the days are fresh. It does not change what you owe for time worked: management has to see that work it does not want done is not performed, and a rule against it is not enough (29 CFR 785.13).
- How do I record a driver who was released between trips?
- Write the time dispatch released the driver and the time dispatch said to be back, and subtract that gap from the day. It counts as unpaid only if the driver was completely relieved, was told ahead of time that they could leave, knew the exact hour work would resume, and had enough time to use for personal business (29 CFR 785.16). If any of those is missing, the time stays on the clock and the box stays blank.
- Do the vehicle check and short breaks go on the sheet?
- The vehicle check is part of the day, so the In time comes before it, not after. Getting a machine ready for work is part of the work, and the regulation's example is a lathe operator who oils and cleans the machine before starting (29 CFR 785.24). A van walk-around is the same kind of task. A short break of roughly 5 to 20 minutes is paid time that cannot be set off against other paid time (29 CFR 785.18), so it gets no line of its own and nothing is subtracted for it.
- Which week does a late shift belong to when it crosses the workweek start?
- Hours count in the workweek in which they were worked. Your workweek is a fixed block of 168 hours, seven 24-hour periods, that starts on a day and hour you choose and keep, and you record that start for each employee (29 CFR 516.2). If the week begins Monday at 12:00 AM, a shift that runs past midnight Sunday puts its late hours in the new week.
- What changes on the sheet for a split shift?
- Record the start and stop of each block, not just the first and last times. New York requires weekly payroll records to show arrival and departure times for any employee on a split shift or whose day spans more than 10 hours (12 NYCRR 142-2.6), and its wage order sets extra pay for such days. The Thursday row in the example shows how a gap is written.
