Exempt Employees and Weather Related Facility Shutdown

bragaw

May the employer require that an exempt ee take vacation or sick leave for a day in which they did not show up for work?

Backstory is the facility had a weather related shutdown that occurred near the opening of business for the day. Many exempt ee's showed up for work, not knowing electricity and heat were not working. Some exempt ee's did not, also not knowing that the facility was down. I know we must pay full day for those that showed up even though they were sent home shortly thereafter but may we require the ee's that did not show up to take either vacation or sick time or must we pay them even though they did not show up at all?

NaeNae55

First, I would suggest you look at how you have handled this in the past. This cannot be your first shut down due to weather, right?

Second, read your policy manual very carefully. Often bad weather is addressed there. If it isn't, it is time to do so.

If both of these fail, and assuming you don't have a state law addressing this, then it will be your choice. Just remember your decision will count for more than this one occassion, and will probably have an impact on morale.

FYI #1: We have chosen to pay exempt employees who come in and have those who do not use leave time. If they are out of leave, we have to pay them anyway, but we try to charge it against their bank.

FYI #2: FSLA does not prevent you from charging leave time for exempt employees who come in. You cannot charge their leave banks for the time they were there, but you can charge them for smaller than a day increments. We do not do so, but it is not illega per federal law.


Good luck!

Nae

bragaw

Thank you NaeNae55.

To clarify, are you saying that we may require exempt ee's that did not show up for work that day at all to use their vacation or sick time to meet their guaranteed weekly salary but that if they do not have vacation/sick time we would still need to pay them their guaranteed weekly salary?

ACU Frank

That is correct.