Human Resource Blog

FMLA Pay for Salaried Employees in South Carolina

In South Carolina if a salaried exempt level employee is using their 12 weeks of FMLA, how do you handle their pay? They are salaried employees so they are not paid on an hourly rate per say, do you just not pay them for the 12 weeks (barring any PTO time they choose to use) or do they continue to get paid as usual?

The exempt employee on FMLA would simply not be paid for that time. InSouth Carolina and every state, an exempt employee who is on FMLA leave need not be paid. FMLA leave is unpaid, by defintion. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act permits many employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. However, it does not require employers to pay for that leave — even if the employee is exempt.

Actually, under FLSA, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, an exempt employee who does no work at all during the payroll week need not be paid for the week. This would apply in most cases when the employee takes an entire week of FMLA.

However, a special regulation permits employers to not pay exempt workers for FMLA time, even when the employee works part of the week. Suppose Cindy, a salaried exempt employee who normally works 5 days per week, takes 3 days of FMLA leave during this payroll week. Cindy is entitled to only 2/5 of her normal weekly salary. This is one of the few conditions under which a salaried exempt employees pay can be prorated based on the number of days worked.