Policy for Exempt Employees

Cindy Hanna

Does any one have a policy on paying an exempt employee? If the employee uses all of there vacation and has no more paid time how many days are they allowed before there is some type of discipline that occurs? Please help me with this. You can e-mail me at [email]channa@schmitzmix.com[/email]

I appreciate your help.

Pork

Cindy Hanna: Be careful here, it sounds like you may not have all the answers to the issue. Remember that we must pay all exempt employees all of the agreed to salary for each week worked or paid by some other benefit program. In the federal guide there are exceptions to the rule. Compensatory time off is one of those areas where an exempt may have his supervisor's or bosses' OK to be off regardless of vacation time or PTO. For instance: today my boss and I have agreed to let me be off this afternoon and tomorrow as compensatory time off. I have used up all of my leave. But I have had a lots of extra hours worked getting ready for year-end close. I have my parts completed and the auditor no longer needs my person for the reainder of this year. So don't get after my pay when my boss and I have agreed to a "payback" of extra time spent for the company. (It is DEER SEASON AND THE MAGNET IS JUST TO MUCH FOR ME TO RESIST; I WOULD NOT BE WORTH A @1x*$ IF I WAS NOT IN THE TREE BY 4:30 PM TODAY AND 5:00AM IN THE MORNING, and my boss knows it! Pork

Cindy Hanna

Yes, Pork that's what I am trying to do is be careful. The situation right now is not good with how exempt employees are being paid. Basically how exempt employees have been paid is if an ee takes off a day or a 1/2 day but has no paid time off the ee will get a day or 1/2 day deducted off his/her check. I just found this out. I told the vp that the way the pay is being done for exempt employes is not correct. The VP wants to come up with a policy that discourages time off for exempt employees that have no more paid time off.

Hatchetman

An absence for personal reasons for a full day may be docked from the exempt employee's salary. An absence due to illness or injury for a full day may be docked from the exempt employee's salary IF the employer has a compensation mechanism in a sick leave policy, plan or practice. The dock may still occur even if the employee has exhausted the paid time/benefit or is not eligible to take the paid time/benefit.

DOL has taken the position that an exempt employee's absences for partial days may be charged against his or her appropriate, accrued time balances on the books, without loss of salaried status, although docking of the salary may NOT occur. If there is no accrued time balance on the books, then docking still may NOT occur.

An employer has the right to require prior notice of non-emergent absences by setting time frames in which the exempt employee is to request prior authorizaton for such absences.

An exempt employee who fails to follow the procedures of course winds up without authorized paid absences, and subject to disciplinary action for not following policy and procedures.

Even if the absence is emergent especially for illness or injury, that prevents advance notice, the employer has a right to set rquirements that authroization be obtained as soon as possible (by calling in and even being required to provide evidence of the compellng need to be absent) before the absence is authorized or covered with accrued time benefit.

The employer may discipline an exempt emplyee for violating absence procedures policies and of course can hold the exempt employee to reasonable attendance expectations just as with the non-exempt employee.

It may turn out in a particular situation that even if the emplyee failed to follow procedures, in order to keep the salary status in tact, you may have to pay the employee. But you can still hold the emplyee to the requirements of the procedures and discipline the employee accordingly.

In short, I don't think that your employer is behind the "8 ball" on this as it may first appear. It just takes some awareness of what may be done under FLSA and state law regarding exempt employee's absences, figuring out how the company wants to handle various situations and the procedures it will require, and then holding exempt employees (and non-exempts) accountalbe to comply with them.

So, if the employee is absent for half a day without authorization and has run out of accrued time benefit, then discipline the exempt employee accordingly (of course this could include full week suspensions without pay). It is possible that you may not make the point with the first or second or even third incident but slowly exempt employees will get the idea that if they want part of the day off, they need to get prior approval from the supervisor or manager; or, if required, to provide acceptable verification of the emergent need that prevented the employee from obtaining prior approval. And of course, the supervisor or manager may deny such a prior request if there is a business necessity to have the employee at work. Or the employee can be held accountable for the absences even if they are paid (if tracking partial days absence and full days absences is for disciplinary purposes and not pay purpses, there should be no problem under FLSA). The denial, the reason and the absence impact should be documented of course.

And if the exempt employee is absent too much, this would be initially indicated by the employee running out of accrued time, and there is a negative impact in the work, then document that and hold the exempt employee accountable for poor atttendance. I can't give you a formula or "standards". There are "point systems" out there though. All that depnds on various factors. I don't like them, anyway. I would attempt to demonstrate over a significant period of the employee's time with the company that the employee has sustantially exceeded accrued time benefits and there has been an ongoing, documented negative impact on the job which has not been corrected by counselling, progressive dsicpline, etc.

I'm assuming FMLA and similar leave entitlement laws aren't applicable in these instances.

Cindy Hanna

Hatchman, no FMLA is not an issue in these instances. Exempt employees are just taking off here and there for what ever reason and the VP feels that they should not get paid for the time off if they do not have any paid time left.

I am asking if any one has a disciplinary procedure in place for exempt employees for taking to much time off.

ritaanz

Pork: I am sitting here and trying to picture you in a tree. With a gun no less....... I think Bambi is safe. x0:)