Alabama Tardiness Laws

[CRISIS]

Can anyone show me the law concerning employees that are late showing up for work and how long the employer must wait before sending them back home or docking them time?

[Pattymd]

There is no such law. What exactly is the situation? Is the employee in question exempt or nonexempt?

[CRISIS]

Most of the employees are showing up anywhere from 2 to 15 mins late for work on a daily basis, can they be sent home for not showing up on time or does the employer have to give them 5 minutes past starting time to make it there?

[cbg]

There is no law in any state requiring employers to provide a grace period before an employee can be considered tardy. There are no laws in any state that dictate how an employer handle tardiness issues.

If you want to send an employee home for being one minute late, you may do so.

[CRISIS]

Can you direct me to a copy of the alabama labor law that pertains to docking someone for being late, this has not been an issue yet but i want to show them that there is no law for sending people home in the law that handles late arrivals and docking time

[Pattymd]

You don't understand. There is no such law. When the law is silent on an issue, that means that the employer can set whatever standards the employer wants. Laws say what employers must do and what they cannot do; they don't say what the employer may do.

When I have people state to me "where is the law that says you can do that?", I ask them to "show me the law that says I can't do that, and I would be more than happy to review this action.". No one has been able to do it yet.

[cbg]

The law specifies what an employer is REQUIRED to do, and what an employer is PROHIBITED from doing. It does not specify what the employer MAY do.

You MAY send an employee home for being late, but you are neither required to nor prohibited from doing so. Therefore, there is no law specifically addresssing it.

We cannot show you a law that does not exist.