Can my employer dock my pay when I’m out sick if I work a lot of OT without compensation?

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Can my employer dock my pay when I’m out sick if I work a lot of OT without compensation?

I was out sick for 2 1/2 days and I have no PTO. We have no written agreement on file where I agreed to be docked. I have worked many hours over 40 per week on several occasions. He also pays the other salaried employes extra for working on Saturdays and I don’t get any extra and have worked every Saturday but 2 since I started in march this year. I also worked a holiday one day with no extra compensation.

Asked on June 14, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Texas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

If  you are salaried, you have to work overtime without compensation--doing so  does not get you anything, unless the employer voluntarily chooses to give you additional compensation or comp time. Therefore, if you missed days at work, the employer may elect to not pay you for those days, even if you have gone above and beyond the call of duty on other occasions--it is unfair, but legal.

There is no obligation to treat employees the same (so some employees could be given additional compensation, while others are not), so long as the unequal treatment is not due to specifically illegal discrimination. The main forms of illegal discrimination (e.g. under federal law) are discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age over 40, disability, or sex. If you think that you are not being given weekend pay because of, for example, your race or religion, you may have a legal claim and should speak with an employment law attorney to explore it.

There is no obligation to give employees paid holidays, or pay them for working holidays.


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