Who gets paid when bad weather shuts down the office?

November 24, 2008 by Sam Narisi
Posted in: Benefits Law, Best Practices, Latest News & Views
Whether it's due to road conditions or facility problems, office closings can cause confusion when it's time to send out the paychecks. Here's some clarification on who gets paid when bad weather strikes.

With non-exempt employees, the answer is simple: If they miss work, either because the office is closed or because they personally can't make it in, you aren't required to pay them. They're only paid for the hours they actually work.

But with exempt employees paid on a salary basis, things get trickier. Under certain circumstances, you can make whole-day deductions from the weekly salary. Here's some guidance, courtesy of a Department of Labor (DOL) Opinion Letter:

When you're closed

When the office is closed for less than a full week, you need to pay exempt employees for the whole week, whether you're closed for one day or four. In general, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), when exempt employees are "ready, able, and willing to work," their weekly salaries can't be reduced when the workplace is closed.

However, you can deduct from the vacation bank for any days people miss due to the closings. But if someone has no accrued paid time off, he or she must be paid anyway.

When you're open

In other cases, the office may be open, but the weather prevents some exempt employees from coming in. When that happens, you don't need to pay them. Essentially, the employee chooses not to come in, and that's considered an absence "for personal reasons," which you can deduct for.

But what about when people come in late or leave early because of the weather? If an exempt employees do any work at any time during the day, you need to pay for the full day (but again, you can deduct from vacation banks for any hours missed, if you want).