HR Tip: Pay for employees in bad weather

When it comes to paying employees who can't come to work because the business is shut down due to bad weather the rule is simple with hourly employees--you don't have to pay them. It gets a bit more complicated with salaried employees. According to the DOL guidelines:

• You can substitute or reduce an employee's accrued leave (vacation, PTO, sick pay, etc.) in partial or full-day increments without destroying the salary basis, as long as the employee still receives pay equal to the guaranteed salary. So, if you use a day of their vacation pay, it has to be the equivalent of what they would have earned that day.
• If the office stays open, the employee's absence is attributable to personal reasons and the employer may make full-day deductions or require them to use vacation, paid time off, or sick leave.
• An employer may not make partial-day deductions from the pay of exempt employees who stay home for less than a full day because of inclement weather.

Click here to read the DOL opinion letter.

Here is an excellent summary created by the Society for Human Resource Management so you can see the law in your state.

Reprinted with permission from HRThatWorks.com, a powerful program designed to inspire great HR practices.