It is time to prepare for the possible inclement weather that winter may bring to the Pacific Northwest this year. After receiving many calls during the snow
and ice we have experienced in our past winters I realized that many employers may struggle
with how to deal with closures or other issues related to inclement weather. The
question I heard again and again was, “am I obligated to pay employees during
inclement weather if I close the business early or completely or if they are
not able to make it into work?”
Although I can’t cover the topic completely, I can provide
employers with some basic information.
The rules are different for exempt and nonexempt employees.
Exempt Employees
The Fair Labor Standards Act, generally, requires employers to
pay exempt employees on inclement weather days, if they close the office but
the employee was ready able and willing to work. A full day of pay may be
deducted from an exempt employee’s pay if the office is open and the employee
misses work because of the weather.
In some cases an employer may require an exempt employee to
use his or her paid time off during an inclement weather day. (Whether this is
a sound business practice is another story.) But if the employee does not have
enough accrued time off to cover the day, the employer may not deduct from the
employee’s salary.
There are instances where inclement weather forces an
employer to close a business for an entire week and exempt employees perform no
work during that week. In this case the
employer need not pay exempt employees.
Nonexempt Employees
Under the FLSA, employers are only required to pay nonexempt
employees for actual hours worked. Thus, an employer is not required to pay
nonexempt employees for non-working time, even if the employee was scheduled to
work and was sent home early. Thus if an employer closes early due to inclement
weather, the employer need only pay nonexempt employees only for the time spent
working.
- Definition of what constitutes an inclement
weather day.
- How and when the company will notify employees of office closures and early closings related to inclement weather days.
- Whether and how exempt employees will be required to use paid time off during inclement weather;
- Guidelines for employees who are able to work from home (including how to report their time for non-exempt employees); and
- Instructions for employees who are unable to get to work safely.
Keep your employees safe in all kinds of weather!
