More and more businesses have to deal with bad weather. Heavy snow, severe storms, hurricanes and more may affect a business at anytime during the year. One question which may arise is when your business closes for hazardous or unsafe weather conditions – do you still have to pay your employees?
This question was asked and our HR Pro Sarah answers it for you:
| Answer from Sarah, PHR, SHRM-CP: |
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| Non-exempt employees need to be paid only for actual hours worked plus any reporting time pay that may be required by the state (this sometimes applies when employees show up for work but are sent home early).
Exempt employees, on the other hand, must be paid when the employer closes due to inclement weather, whether they do any work or not. You may require exempt employees to use accrued vacation or paid time off for the day if that is your regular practice when the workspace closes. However, exempt employees without enough paid time off to cover the absence must still be provided with their regular salary during the closure. Many companies have an inclement weather or emergency closure policy for these sorts of situations. These policies typically address communication in the event of worksite closures and options for employees. You might, for example, allow employees to work from home. If you don’t have a policy like this in place, now might be the time to implement one. If your business would like to know more about an inclement weather policy, ask us how we can help you create a policy for your company. |
