Deductions for disciplinary suspensions

barry

Can I suspend an exempt employee without pay for breaking a company rule?

Margaret Morford

Yes and no.

If the rule he/she broke is not a major safety rule, you can suspend him/her without pay for one week increments without losing the exemption. In other words, he/she did no work during that pay period.

If it is a major safety rule he/she violated(courts construe this exception very narrowly so it better be an obvious major safety violation), you can suspend for less than a week without losing the exemption.

Hope that helps.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

mushroomHR

You can only suspend without pay, an exempt employee for a full week. However, if they violate a safety rule of major significance, which include only those relating to the prevention of serious danger to the plant, or to other employees, then you can suspend them without pay for less than a week's time. I suggest you contact your state's wage and hour department.