Salaried Employees
3528101
2 Posts
I would like your legal opinion to the following situation:
There are 3 salaried employees and the rest are hourly at our business. The business closes down from 12/18/04 thru 1/2/05 (reopens 1/3/05). The hourly employees collect unemployment or use unused vacation time. One salaried worker has to work during the lay off. One only comes in if there is a need to plow snow (basically for employee that has to work). Also, this year this employee will not return to work until 1/10/05 (this is not vacation time and will be paid for it). The 3rd salaried employee doesn't come in at all during the layoff period.
The two salaried workers that do not work during the layoff sometimes work over 40 hours a week during the busy time. Management may sometimes give them time off called comp time. Even if the salaried worker that works during the lay off had a lot of overtime hours, that person would still have to work during the layoff. This same person only has 1 week of vacation and if takes extra time has it deducted from salary.
One other question is that all 3 salaried workers have to punch at time clock in the AM and PM when leaving. Only one has to clock in and out at lunch (the one who has to work the layoff period). Management also expects salaried workers to use personal/sick time accrued to cover for time missed (less that 2 hours).
I's appreciate any feed back that you would have.
By the way, Nov 15 - March 30 is our slow time.
There are 3 salaried employees and the rest are hourly at our business. The business closes down from 12/18/04 thru 1/2/05 (reopens 1/3/05). The hourly employees collect unemployment or use unused vacation time. One salaried worker has to work during the lay off. One only comes in if there is a need to plow snow (basically for employee that has to work). Also, this year this employee will not return to work until 1/10/05 (this is not vacation time and will be paid for it). The 3rd salaried employee doesn't come in at all during the layoff period.
The two salaried workers that do not work during the layoff sometimes work over 40 hours a week during the busy time. Management may sometimes give them time off called comp time. Even if the salaried worker that works during the lay off had a lot of overtime hours, that person would still have to work during the layoff. This same person only has 1 week of vacation and if takes extra time has it deducted from salary.
One other question is that all 3 salaried workers have to punch at time clock in the AM and PM when leaving. Only one has to clock in and out at lunch (the one who has to work the layoff period). Management also expects salaried workers to use personal/sick time accrued to cover for time missed (less that 2 hours).
I's appreciate any feed back that you would have.
By the way, Nov 15 - March 30 is our slow time.
Comments
The question that I have is, isn't legal/fair to make the one salaried person work during the shut down when the other two are not required to.
You have given us a scenario, but I don't see any questions.
I will say it is OK to punch a time clock, even if you are exempt. That would be OK to track attendance, but not OK to use as a basis for pay for exempt personnel. Doing so can put their exempt status at risk.
As to working exempt personnel more than 40 hours, that is the norm - at least most places I have been. You can work exempt personnel 8 days a week, 25 hours a day without paying them extra.
Giving Comp time (compensating time off) is a problem but there are some exceptions, such as EEs of certain public entities. Otherwise, I think it is supposed to only happen within the pay period.
That does not mean you cannot pay people later in the year - perhaps you are giving them more vacation pay or bonuses of some sort.
I would not worry too much about the disparity in treatment of the salaried people you described - unless you are treating them differently because of some protected status, such as race, veteran status, sexual orientation, etc.
None of these opinions are legal or illegal - just mine and like Mwild, I am not a lawyer with an professional liability insurance policy you can look to if you act on this information and suffer some sort of a loss.
So if I missed any of the real questions you have, post again with a specific question and I will take another shot.