Is it legal for my employer to require me work a couple of 3 hour shifts on 2 separate days but dock my sick pay for 6 hours if I miss either 3 hour shift?
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Is it legal for my employer to require me work a couple of 3 hour shifts on 2 separate days but dock my sick pay for 6 hours if I miss either 3 hour shift?
I teach online classes. I am required to have 6 hours office hours each week. My employer assigned me two 3 hour shifts on Separate days for office hours and credits me 3 hours For each day I attend. However, if I miss one 3 hour shift the district docks my sick pay 6 hours a full day and if I miss both they dock me 12 hours 2 days Antelope Valley Union HigbSchool District
Asked on December 12, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
IF you have a union agreement which covers this situation, the employer can do whatever the agreement says--and only what it says. The union agreement is a contract, and its terms bind and are enforceable against both employer and employee. If there is an agreement and it is helpful to you, as a beneficiary of the contract, you could likely sue to enforce it, if the union itself will not help.
If you don't have a union agreement covering this situation and are an hourly employee, this is likely illegal: hourly employees must be paid for all hours worked under the law (e.g. under the Fair Labor Standards Act), and docking sick time you earned if you don't work a shift is effectively taking away hours from you (e.g. if you work 30 hours but lose 6 hours of paid time off, you are effectively only being paid for 24 hours--but as an hourly employee working 30 hours, should be paid for all 30 hours). In this event, contact the state or federal department of labor to file a complaint--you should have a viable case.
If you are salaried employee and were told about or otherwise made aware of this policy before it was implemented against you, they can probably do this. Your weekly salary is independent of the hours worked, so this would likely not be seen as effectively debiting your work hours. Being aware of this policy about the accrual and retention of sick leave and then continuing to work there despite it may be seen as agreement to/with it.
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