Am I required to pay or dock pay of an employee if he showed up to work somedays and not other days?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Am I required to pay or dock pay of an employee if he showed up to work somedays and not other days?
He worked 3 days; 1 of those days he showed up late and on another day wanted me to meet him to pick him up. Another day didn’t come at all. Then he called 2 days later to resign.
Asked on October 19, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Generally speaking, you are not required to pay someone for days they did not work.... this works best in hourly employees that are eligible for overtime. So, if you have an hourly, non-exempt employee that only worked 3 days, you are only required to pay him for the actual time he worked. The word of caution regarding this answer is that the answer may not be the same for employees that are salaried and exempt-- like store managers. Salaried means that someone gets paid the same regardless of whether they work 30 hours or 60 hours-- with no overtime provisions. If you start docking the pay of salaried, exempt employees, then your practice could be construed and interpreted to mean that you actually consider the employee and hourly employee. If the employee is deemed to be an hourly employee, then the employee would not only be entitled for overtime that week, but could also make a back dated claim for all of the other days that they worked overtime and were not properly paid. This has been a very expensive lesson for some companies. The key is consistency. Whether they are hourly or salary, use consistent practices for compensation so you don't accidentally end up with an expensive wage claim.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.