Hello, I live in Colorado and am an exempt salaried employee. I know I am not paid for overtime, but am I required to work overtime? If I have to be out for a partial day, say for a personal reason like taking a cat to a vet or picking up someone from the airport etc.. can my employer dock my sick time or vacation time?

As an exempt employee, your employer does not need to compensate you for additional hours (nor give you comp time). Also, your employer can dock your sick and vacation time for partial days. They just cannot reduce your pay in most instances.

I am a new exempt, salaried employee at a Colorado-owned company. Company policy (of which I do not have a formal copy) dictates NO vacation or sick time is accrued until AFTER your first year of employment. They also dictate that you work five (5) 10-hour days. If you work less than 50 hours per week and you have no sick or vacation time, your pay is docked without notice.

Is this a legal practice in the state of Colorado?

Yes (for required hours) and provisionally yes for docking of salary.

The only time an exempt employee's salary may be docked for a partial day absence is if the absence is FMLA-related. However, it is permissible to dock a full day's salary if the absence is for personal reasons (vacation) if the employee is not yet able to take paid vacation under the employer's policy. Assuming the sick pay entitlement is at least 5 days per year (a "bona fide" sick pay program), it is also permissible to deduct for a full day's absence due to illness or injury if the employee is not yet able to take paid sick time under the employer's policy.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_541/29CFR541.602.htm

Yes (for required hours) and provisionally yes for docking of salary.

The only time an exempt employee's salary may be docked for a partial day absence is if the absence is FMLA-related. However, it is permissible to dock a full day's salary if the absence is for personal reasons (vacation) if the employee is not yet able to take paid vacation under the employer's policy. Assuming the sick pay entitlement is at least 5 days per year (a "bona fide" sick pay program), it is also permissible to deduct for a full day's absence due to illness or injury if the employee is not yet able to take paid sick time under the employer's policy.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_541/29CFR541.602.htm

Pattymd, I read the document at the link you provided and I have a couple questions about a salaried-exempt worker and time off.

1) My employer provides vacation pay of at least 10 days per year (may be more depending on how long you've worked). If I am gone for a personal reason for less than 1 full day, meaning I work part of that day and am gone for part of that day, can my employer charge me vacation time for that? Can they deduct a partial days worth of vacation or can the charge a full days vacation or can they even deduct any vacataion time at all?

2) Assuming they can deduct partial days vacation time (I know this assumption might be incorrect) I have recently found a time-off policy that states vacation time must be taken in full day increments. So based on labor law and this statement, what would be the appropriate thing to do if I took a partial day off as vacation and worked a partial day?

Thanks!

The charging of a vacation/sick/PTO bank is a function of state law, not the FLSA (who doesn't care one whit, as long as the actual pay is not illegally docked). Colorado law doesn't care either.

BTW, the "at least 5 days" refers to a sick pay plan, not vacation.

If the company policy is that vacation may only be taken in full day increments, then that's what you need to work with. If you work half a day, then take the rest of the day off, theoretically, the employer could decrement your vacation bank by a full day, as your pay is not being affected. (Note; this is true in Colorado; it MAY not be true in states which prohibit "use-it-or-lose-it" policies).

You have a choice, I guess. You can either request that you be able to "make up" the time throughout the week (although that is really antithetical to the concept of exempt employment), or you can play their game and take a full day off even if you don't need the full day off. Personally, I think that's not the best idea in the world, but there is no law that is going to force the employer to change their policy on this particular issue.

I am a Supervisor at a call center and an exempt employee. I was recently told by my director that if I was sick I would have to find someone to coverage my shift and that if I could not not find anyone I would still be required to come in and cover any time that we were without a Supervisor in the building and would still be charged "sick hours". Is this legal?

Please start your own thread.

It isn't illegal. It may be unfair but it isn't illegal.