Whether or not to Ask EE's to use PTO Time for Bad Weather Days

RoseF

We recently shut down for 2 1/2 days for Hurricane Lili. We do not have a specific p[olicy regarding "Bad Weather Days" and have asked Exempts to use PTO days for the 2 whole days the facility was closed. Non-exempts were offered to use available PTO or just take unpaid days off (not to be counted as an absence when reviewing attendance issues). I know State Dept. employees were to take their lost days as unpaid or out of their Annual Leave Bank, but they are complaining about it. Are there specific laws concerning this? How do other company's handle days not worked due to inclement weather?

Theresa Gegen TX

I do not think that the law requires you to pay any employee (hourly or exempt) for full days that are not worked. The employees obviously think "It's not fair because it is not our fault", but it is not the company's fault either. Since the employer gives the employees the benefit of Paid Time Off (which is not legally required, and which not every employer gives to employees), the employees have the ability to get paid for those days or the choice of going un paid.

It boils down now to a cost benefit analysis on how it is effecting the employee's morale. You might want to ask other employers that shut down whether they paid their employees for the time. (the answer is probably "no" and the employees might feel that you are not being unfair if they know that the company has handled the issue the same as other companies).


Good Luck!

Lori B

Hi

I believe you need to pay the exempts b/c you closed the facility. Remember: they are due their entire salary for a week regardless of hours worked. If they take a personal day off, that is one thing. If you close the facility on them when they are otherwise ready and willing to work, you owe them the pay though. I'm not sure how DOL would view this in light of a hurricane. There could be a real issue about whether the exempts were indeed ready and wiling to work....

The nonexempts are only due pay for actual hours worked unless they want to burn some of that PTO.

The above mirrors our policy. We realize ee morale issues would prefer full pay for all, but these issues come up more than you realize when you are multistate. We get earthquakes in WA, hurricanes in TX, snow in midwest, ice storms in south, you name it....it comes up every year so we have applied the above parameters across the board for everyone.

RoseF

Let me restate the issue: We ARE paying Exempts their FULL Salary for the week the Hurricane hit, but we are taking the 2 days the facility was closed due to the storm out of their PTO banks. Our State Department is doing the same with their employees and the flak is flying. Can we ask Non-exempts to choose to use PTO or take the days unpaid but NOT require Exempts to use PTO?

Lori B

Hi Rose

If you close the facility, you pay the exempts, period. Taking the 2 days from their PTO banks just invites a FLSA challenge.

As far as the nonexempts, there is no rule to treat the two the same here.

I'd pay the exempts (and not take it from PTO) and let the nonexempts choose either PTO or no pay.

good luck. I hope you will be able to return to some normalcy soon there.

Don D

When you say "the State Department", I'm not sure who you mean. The years I worked for State Government in our state, anytime weather or similar circumstances caused offices to close or be closed, the various governors determined that all employees were to be paid fully. I don't know your numbers or the bottom line costs to the facility; but, I would tend to come down on the side of what's best for the company in the long run. Perhaps it'll be a short term expense; but, it'll be one helluva long term morale plus for you to pay all those who were available for work but were forced to miss. Then you'll have one surface who had already applied for vacation or was going to be off on those days. I would continue on with that as if it had occurred. I really think this is a case not of 'what can you do', but 'what should you do'.

sonny

I agree with Don. During our last brush with a hurricane, it was administrative leave with pay. It was only one day and I suppose there could be a problem if it was "the big one". There were some curmudgeons running around (in HR no less) that felt people should be forced to use PTO. There was so much grumbling that it was dropped. EE who had to be here and were called in got OT (ie Fire, Police)

Rockie

You will run afoul of the DOL if you dock exempts PTO time when you officiallyh close a facility. You can choose to pay or not pay the hourly employees.

I know way back in 1989 when our city was hit very hard by Hurricane Hugo, our bank building was partially destroyed and lots of folks had personal problems at home with no water or no roofs and trying to get repairs done. Our facility asked the employees who could come to work to please come in and help us clear away debris so we could open somewhat to customers. Those employees who were hard hit at home were allowed to take care of what they needed to in order to get back to some sense of normalcy. Our bank gave everyone a "free" week off to get everything together. No one complained because it was a horrendous situation and if you were lucky enough to escape a lot of damage, you were glad to come into work to help clean up or go to a fellow workers home to help him.

It was a good experience in how people pull together in adversity. Hopefully, your company could consider something like this. It certainly makes the employees feel good towards the company!