Wage Law

Holiday pay for exempt, salaried, employees can be confusing to both employee and employer. The general rule, however, is simply. If a salaried exempt employee is ready, willing and able to work, the employer may not deduct from his or her salary if the business is closed for less than a full workweek. Thus, for example, when a business closes on the Friday after Thanksgiving or any other Thursday holiday, or the Monday before a Tuesday holiday, or any other one-day closure, the hourly employees need not be paid, but the salaried employees are credited with, and paid for, a full workweek. The same rule applies for deductions taken in the form of compelled use of vacation time or "paid time off." Exempt employees may be denied pay if the business closes for an entire workweek, as long as the employee performs no work during that week, and as long as the deduction from payroll does not reduce that employee's monthly compensation to an amount below the required minimum for his or her exemption.