Closing for the day - Exempt employees

System

Our company is considering closing down the day after Christmas. We have designated holidays on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We would like to close the day after and give hourly people the option of taking the day as PTO (Paid Time Off) or as an unpaid day.

My question is, how do I handle this with exempt employees? Because it is "no work" available, I don't believe we can request an exempt employees to take PTO or unpaid time.

Hatchetman

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-28-03 AT 10:59AM (CST)[/font][p]Under FLSA regulation, if you close down for a day (or even 2 days) and the exempt employee was ready, willing and able to work that day, you would would not be able to dock pay for that day if the exempt, salaried employee worked any part of that week. You could however in most states charge the employees accrued time balance for the time (if the employee had no time on the books, you would still have to pay the salary for the day).

Remember, FLSA addresses salary and not fringe benefits which it considers PTO and other paid time benefits to be (California and other states sees PTO and paid vacation time as deferred salary).

moneyman

I agree with Hachetman, I would not dock any exempt, however I would charge the PTO bank. Its a little different with your exempts because since you are giving the option for PTO or unpaid to your hourly, then if the exempt refuses to use the PTO, then I believe that you are still obligated to pay the whole day.

My opinion, since this is 1 day, I would just not worry about it and just pay the exempt. In most cases, exempts work more than enough hours to justify the paid day. Most employers calculate the exempts base pay based upon an estimated regular work week. It seems that this estimate is always in favor of the employer (at least in my experience) and that the employee always works more that originally planned. I would just be a generous employer then and give them the day paid without charging the PTO. One of the perks of being exempt!

System

Thanks for the information. I happen to work in a company where exempts don't put in a lot of overtime, but I like your idea. I have a hard time charging someones PTO when they didn't plan on it.