Human Resource Blog

Personal/Sick Time Off

Our Employee Handbook states that all employees (exempt or non-exempt)will accrue 6 personal/sick days per year (in addition to Vacation). The Handbook states:
Personal/Sick can be used for any increment of time for personal or sick time off. Time will be deducted from their Personal/Sick Benefits (not their salary).
After this benefit has been exhausted, their absence will fall under the exempt employee law, which says if they worked any time in a week, we have to pay them for the whole week.
Are we correct about this?

Not exactly.

Under federal law, a salaried-except employee who does not work at all one day, need not be paid for that day.

Suppose Paul is a salaried exempt manager who has used up all his vacation and personal time. He normally works Monday through Friday. One week, Paul is absent on Wednesday because he’s sick. So Paul works 4 days that week. The employer could legitimately pay Paul 4/5 of his usual salary, without endangering Paul’s status as a salaried exempt employee.

However, if Paul came in on Wednesday and worked, even for one hour, before going home sick, he must be paid for the entire day. Not paying him for the entire day could change his salaried exempt status.

It’s better not to broadcast this policy in the handbook. Perhaps “Salaried employees who miss additional days after their personal and sick leave has been used, may be subject to discipline, or loss of pay.” Or, just don’t address this particular issue at all in the handbook.