Why do TimeStamp and KronosTimeZone list different time zone offsets?

Question

I have a Kronos Workforce Central 8.1 server located in an EST time zone. To confirm that the time zone was configured properly, I sent a GetServerTime request to the server.

<Kronos_WFC version="1.0">
    <Request Object="ServerTime" Action="GetServerTime"/>
</Kronos_WFC>

To my surprise, the server response listed two different timezone offsets for GMT.

• TimeStamp="5/09/2018 10:23AM GMT-04:00"
• KronosTimeZone="(GMT -05:00) Eastern Time"

<Kronos_WFC TimeStamp="5/09/2018 10:23AM GMT-04:00" version="1.0" WFCVersion="8.1.1.569">
    <Response Status="Success" Action="GetServerTime" Object="ServerTime">
        <ServerTime DateTime="5/09/2018 10:23AM" KronosTimeZone="(GMT -05:00) Eastern Time"/>
    </Response>
</Kronos_WFC>

Why is Workforce Central returning different GMT offsets for TimeStamp and KronosTimeZone?

Answer 1

The 1 hour difference in GMT offset is caused by Daylight Savings Time.

The DST period in the United States begins each year on the 2nd Sunday in March, when clocks are set forward by 1 hour. They are turned back again to standard time on the 1st Sunday in November as DST ends.

_{timeanddate.com - Daylight Savings Time in the USA}

In other words:

• KronosTimeZone is the server's time zone, which for EST will always be GMT -05:00.
• TimeStamp is the server's current time, which is GMT -04:00 due to daylight savings.

The TimeStamp offset will revert back to GMT -05:00 in November when DST ends.