I am the Accounting Manager for a small family owned company. I found this job through an employment agency. The agencies negotiated my salary and compensation package for me.

I started in April; I was told there would be 90 day probation. I would have 1 week vacation this year and 2 weeks next, plus pay for all major holidays and 3 floater days this year.

I was sick 1 day and docked for the time off. I have been a salaried employee for over 10 years and I have never been docked for a day! Is this legal?

Also last Wednesday I got sick at work, I called my doctor would told me to come in that afternoon. I left work 1 1/2 hours early. The next day I received an email from HR (bosses' daughter) would told me I had to start punching in on the salaried time clock (up until this point I did not know this existed) and I must inform her in the future of all time off as soon as I know I will be off. On Thursday I made up my time off by working through lunch and staying late after 5:00.

My question is: Were they legal in docking me for the whole day? Can they dock me for a few hours away from the office?

Thanks for your help

My question is: Were they legal in docking me for the whole day? Can they dock me for a few hours away from the office?


Probably not legally.
- Salaried is just a payment method and does not mean much by itself. However it is likely that you are Exempt Salaried under the Administrative or Executive exceptions. White Collar exceptions. (http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/main.htm) If so, then you are subject to the restrictions in the 29 CFR 541.602 regulations. Exempt salaried rules. (http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_541/29CFR541.602.htm)
- Under those rules entire days missed for sick pay purposes can only be docked if a "bona fide" sick pay plan is in place. Federal DOL generally considers a "bona fide" plan as one that offers at least 5 sick pay days per year. Your employer could maybe argue that you are going to earn 5 days during the year, that this has not happened yet, so maybe the plan is "bona fide". This is sort of a "look very hard at the details" type of argument, assuming that is the argument the employer makes.
- The same regulation prevents the docking of salary for partial days worked under the circumstances you describe.
- Also, just to be clear, "docking" per federal rules means the actual reduction of the salary and not just the reduction of a benefit hours balance. Federal law does not care even a little bit what happens to the benefit hours balance, but does care about what happens to the salary for an Exempt Salaried employee. Exempt salaried and PTO. (http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/opinion/FLSA/2005/2005_01_07_7_FLSA_PaidTimeOff.pdf)