With the onset of the 2018 hurricane season and the effects of last year’s storms still being felt by many, employers have a number of concerns. These range from preparing facilities to determining whether a business will stay open. At some point, after decisions have been made about whether a business will close temporarily and if goods or people need to be moved out of harm’s way, one questions often rises to the fore: “Should I pay exempt employees who miss work due to bad weather conditions?”
When it comes to deductions from exempt employees’ salaries, it is easy to get into trouble. For example, a general rule is that an exempt employee is entitled to receive his or her entire salary for any workweek he or she performed work. This means, if the work site closes for a partial week due to bad weather conditions (such as a hurricane) and the exempt employee has worked during that workweek, the employee is entitled to his or her full salary.
There are, however, important nuances, including rules for use of paid time off, treatment of non-exempt employees on fixed salaries, and for workplaces such as hospitals or nursing homes that may require employees to remain onsite during a storm.
For more information about employee compensation in the face of storm-caused and other business disruptions, please contact your Ally Law labor and employment lawyer.
Click hereto read the full article by Jennifer Fowler-Hermes of Ally Law member firm Williams Parker.
