I understand the difference between exempt and non-exempt and how to actually pay them, but are there any legal ramifications for not paying someone that is salary for a sick day if they have exhausted all of their paid time off benefits?


Toni Davis
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Depends on the policy of the company. If it's a stated policy that only x number of sickdays will be allowed and that employees will be docked if they exceed the allotment, then there should be no problem.

The main point here is you have to have a policy and apply it indiscriminately. You can't pay the boss's daughter for excess sick days and not pay the receptionist.

Thank you,

We are a small company and I agree with a policy being implemented. We are currently working on that.

Toni Davis

If you have no policy now, I would consult your attorneys or the local dept of Labor before docking anyone. You can't first write the policy then apply it retroactively.

The laws are very complicated, you may wish to read some of the Department of Labor and your state rules, and contact an attorney.

If a salary employee makes under a certain salary level, they are even entitled to overtime after scheduled work hours. ( so if you have a 25,000 dollar a year salary employee and you work them overtime, they can receive overtime pay in many cases)

Also if you start docking their pay for absent, you may open yourself up to have to pay overtime for work other then normal working hours.

This is why most larger companies that I have worked for only issues warnings, may suspend for so many days unpaid, or fire a person for missing too many days.

Doing the wrong thing can end up costing you big money in a law suit if they go to an employment attorney and you have not followed all of the very complicated rules porperly.

** note the large class action law suit that Walmart just lost this week.

If you are a salaried employee and you take time off that you are not entitled to, they will reduce your pay according to how much time off you took. For example, if you take one day off that you're not entitled to, they'll deduct you one day's pay. As a salaried employee, take your yearly salary and divide that by how many days you work each year. That's how much they should deduct for taking any leave that's not covered as paid leave.