hours not worked

sssteel

This past week we paid our employees 8 hours of holiday pay, and worked our employees 4 days which brought most of our employees to 40 hours. One department did not have enough work to justify working the fourth day so we sent them home early. This caused them to only work 38 hours that week. Management is telling me that law requires them to be paid for 40 hours, but I am saying that this is a choice of the company. Can anyone tell me if a company is required to pay its employee a full 40 hours, if the employee did not work 40 hours due to lack of work?

NaeNae55

It is not a federal law, but I can't speak as to whether it is a state law. I suggest you call your state department of labor. However, I can't imagine it being a state law either. How else would you have part time workers or allow companies to call 35 hour employees full time?

Do you have written policies, and do they address this? When we send our employees home due to lack of work we have them use PTO time for the difference. It is in our employee manual. If sending home workers early due to a lack of work is not in your employee manual, I suggest you add it, whether you pay them or not. Then everyone will know what to expect in the future.

Good luck!

Nae

Dasher

Exempt employees would have to be paid the 40 hours.
Non-exempts, or hourly workers, can be paid for the number of hours actually worked.