Human Resource Blog

Docked Salary

Hi,
I am an Accounting/HR Manager for a telephone company in Oklahoma. I am paid salary. My boss has always allowed the salary managers to have a “flexible” schedule. Meaning, we could leave an hour or two earlier sometimes and still get paid the same pay; however, there are many times when we stay an hour or two later each day as well sometimes getting more than 40 hours a week. He recently hired a new operating manager that has changed that. If you take off anytime at all, she docks your time. The only thing is, she is salary as well and is frequently tardy or absent and never has her time docked. This is also the case for another manager who is her “favorite”. My boss sides with her. Is this legal? It is certainly not fair.

We agree that this is not fair, but it may be legal. There is really nothing that can be done about the favoritism. It is unprofessional, but lawful.

The salary is an issue if your employer is covered by the federal FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act. A salaried employee can be either exempt or non-exempt, based on the employees primary duties. Non-exempt salaried employees are entitled to overtime when they work more than 40 hours per week, and their pay can be docked when they work less than 40 hours per week. An exempt salaried employee must be paid the same weekly salary, regardless of how many hours the employee works in the week.

You are being treated as a non-exempt salaried employee. That means if you work overtime, you are entitled to time-and-one-half for any time over 40 hours. However, your paycheck can be reduced when you work less than 40 hours in the payroll week.

If you were an exempt employee, you would be entitled to your full weeks salary when you took off an occasional hour here and there. An exempt employee can be disciplined or terminated for leaving work early, but must still be paid the full weeks wages. When an employer treats an exempt employee a salaried non-exempt, that employee becomes permanently non-exempt. (An employee cannot be exempt one month, then non-exempt, then exempt again.)

The new operations manager is treating herself and her favorite employee as exempt.

The new operations manager has effectively switched you from exempt to non-exempt by her actions. Track when your salary is reduced for leaving early. Months later, when you have to work more than 40 hours per week, file an overtime wage claim with the U.S. Department of Labor.