In the last issue of CED, we considered non-exempt compensation challenges during emergency closings. Today, we’ll look at exempts and some related hassles.
Exempt Employees and Disasters
Exempt employees are generally paid their normal amount if the workday is shortened. Docking (reducing pay of exempt employees who are scheduled to work but do not because of an emergency) may affect the employees’ status of being exempt from overtime because, by docking, you are treating them like non-exempt employees.
Generally, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) permits an employer to make a deduction for a full-day absence for an exempt employee—but only for a full-day absence—when an exempt employee chooses not report to work due to an emergency.
However, if the exempt employee is absent for only part of the day because of the emergency, the employer may not make a deduction from pay.
Notification and Communication
Guaranteed: In an emergency, you’re going to want to be able to communicate with your employees. When’s the office going to open? Where should they go? What should they do to stay abreast of developments? Unfortunately, notification is often difficult or near impossible because disasters tend to disrupt routine means of communication.
For starters, have a written policy in place that instructs employees how they can expect to receive notice of a closing, for example:
- Listen to a local radio station.
- Call a special telephone number.
- Engage a telephone chain.
- Check on the company website.
Alternate Worksites
Employers may wish to establish an alternate worksite. Businesses that have to stay functioning typically have made arrangements for an alternate worksite. Depending on the nature and length of the disruption or disaster, other employers may find they need to set up alternatives.
In any case, the employers need to set forth clear plans for how to communicate, where the alternate workplace is located, when employees should go there, how employees will be transported, and so on.
A Way to Pay
HR must be prepared to get paychecks to employees, even when the business is closed. Employers may want to create a disaster info sheet—with home phone numbers and cell phone numbers for key HR managers, IT staff, payroll suppliers, and banks—that compensation staffers can keep at home.
Who’s exempt in California and who’s not? Find out for sure at our webinar this Wednesday!
Direct Deposit
Employers should contact their payroll vendors for guidance on providing direct deposit during emergencies.
Benefits
Check to see that your benefits vendors have disaster plans. Find out what they are, how they affect the organization’s operations, and how employees interface with them during a disaster.
Exempt or non-exempt ? It’s a question that HR professionals across the state often struggle with, even when there’s not a natural disaster forcing the issue.
And it’s no wonder why: California’s wage and hour rules are voluminous, and the devil is in the details when it comes to ensuring that you’ve properly classified an employee as exempt from overtime.
It’s not enough to rely on the job title or job description. Discerning whether a particular position is truly exempt from overtime under California and federal law requires you to know the California wage and hour rules, and how to apply those rules to each position, so you can correctly determine whether overtime compensation may be owed.
Don’t miss our webinar this Wednesday, specifically for California HR professionals. Our presenter will use real-life examples to illus
He’ll also provide tips on how to tell if you’ve incorrectly misclassified non-exempt employees as independent contractors—and what you should do immediately to correct your mistakes.
You’ll learn:
- How to judge exempt versus non-exempt status in California
- Common misconceptions about California exemption classifications
- The checklist of duties white-collar employees must perform to qualify as exempt from overtime under state and federal law
- How to properly apply the salary basis test here in California
- Recent cases alleging exemption misclassifications—and how to avoid getting caught up in the same litigation trap as the employers in those cases
- Tell-tale signs that an independent contractor is really your employee and how to fix your mistake
Download your free copy of Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts today!
Helpful info–I don’t think compensation issues are necessarily an obvious component of the disaster plan for all employers. But you still have to meet your legal payroll obligations, not to mention do what you can to support your employees.
Helpful info–I don’t think compensation issues are necessarily an obvious component of the disaster plan for all employers. But you still have to meet your legal payroll obligations, not to mention do what you can to support your employees.