Human Resource Blog

Exempt employees and Holidays

We have several exempt employees (administrative and general counsel) and we were closed for MLK Day although that is not one of the companies reconized paid holidays. Are these employees entitled to be paid for the day?

Yes, you must pay these exempt employees their full salary for the week, as long as they worked any portion of the payroll week.

Under the federal FLSA, the first requirement for an employee to be exempt is that the employee be paid “on a salary basis.” This means the employee is paid the same salary each week, regardless of the number of hours or days worked. The FLSA also requires that an exempt employee who works any portion of the payroll week, and is ready, willing and able to work the entire week, must be paid his or her usual salary for the week. This is true, even if the office is closed one day or you have no work for the exempt employee on one  or more days. The exempt employees must be paid their full salary for the week.

Different rules would apply if the exempt employee took the day off for personal business, or if the exempt employees did no work at all that payroll week. Different rules would also apply if the exempt employee failed to work the scheduled day before or after the holiday, but there is no indication in your post that this happened.