North Carolina: Exempt staff member is returned to work in reduced hours capacity - 3 days/week, max of 4 hrs/day - following a nasty fall down a flight of stairs. Internal leave policy for exempt staff states a full day's pay for any amount of time on the job.

How does Wage & Hour law for the exempt staff member interface with medically mandated work restrictions? ie, are our hands bound in paying this employee for a full days work when, in all actuality, she only works 4? If required to pay her a full 8 hrs for these partial days, are the wages earned reportable income for the purpose of calculating WComp supplemental pay or not?

Thank you

FMLA is one of the few reasons that employers can dock exempt employees for partial day absences. However, it sounds like you have not had that policy before. Therefore, implementing it at this time may appear to be discriminatory...perhaps as a retaliation for her filing a workers compensation claim. Also, you may not deduct partial day absences due to illness of an employee who is not on FMLA.

The regulations regarding FMLA and exemption status may be found at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.206.htm

Let me know if you have any other questions.