Last night, with only hours before three provisions were set to expire, President Obama arose early in the morning in France in time to review, approve, and sign an extension of the Patriot Act. Except that he didn’t actually do any signing. Instead, the President authorized the use of an autopen, a machine which holds a pen and signs his signature.
With the adoption of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) by all but three states, electronic signatures are now legally recognized and commonly used in business, and in particular, for payroll transactions. Those states (IL, NY, and WA) that have not, have their own statutes pertaining to electronic transactions.
Even contractors performing work on government projects under the Bacon-Davis Act are allowed to use electronic signatures as long as they submit a Statement of Compliance that is signed and submitted after every payroll cycle.
So how are signatures captured electronically in a mobile time tracking system? Our customers using mJobTime capture signatures using smartphones devices with built-in capabilities like the ES400, or by using a usb-connected digital signature pad.
As stated in ESIGN and UETA, electronic signatures have the same legal weight and effect as handwritten ones, and without all the paper, are much more environmental friendly.
Not only do electronic signatures help the environment, but by eliminating all of the paper that would otherwise be used, they can also reduce costs substantially. However, the biggest advantage of electronic signatures might be the increased efficiency they produce as well as the convenience they offer.
