Every employer faces unexpected work stoppages at some point. Most closing are related to emergencies—weather problems, power outages, fires or chemical spills, or a quarantine. All of these situations raise policy questions, especially about compensation.For a Limited Time receive a
FREE HR Report "Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management." This comprehensive special report will give you the information you need to know about these current HR challenges and how to most effectively manage them in your workplace.
Download Now
Federal Laws
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the most comprehensive federal law covering wage and hour issues, does not require you to pay a nonexempt employee who show up at work but is sent home before doing any work. Employers are not required to consider any of that time as hours worked or to give the employee show-up pay unless required by a union contract or other agreement with the employer.
Exempt employees—those not covered by the FLSA because they have one of the broad types of white-collar, professional jobs—are paid a certain minimum salary regardless of hours works. They would normally be paid even if the facility were closed for a day or two.
State Laws
State laws on the issue of pay during work stoppages vary widely. Call your state’s Department of Labor or go on the agency’s website for a more specific statement of the rules of your state.
Liability
As far as liability is concerned, it is best not to “force” people to come to work or stay at work if they fear for their health or safety. It is also generally best to follow the recommendation of government agencies or local authorities concerning closings.
Who Decides
Make sure that you designate a person or persons in your organization who have the responsibility for making decisions concerning closings. Designate a backup as well. Be sure that you have several ways of contacting the decision-makers.
How to Decide
The company may choose to close if:
- Government officials recommend or order closing
- A great many employees at your facility or in your area are ill
A middle ground is to tell employees that they may stay home if they are concerned, but that the workplace will be “open.”
Communications
Develop a process to communicate closings to workers. Some of the most common options are a recorded phone message on a company number, an automated phone message to employees’ personal phones, radio and TV messages, a broadcast email, or a posted message on a company website.
- Make it easy for supervisors and employees to know who to call and what to do.
- Make sure all employees know exactly where and how to access accurate information directly from the company
- Keep all information current
Who Gets Paid
When facilities are closed for an entire day(s), normally nonexempt employees would not be paid. Exempt employees normally would.
Most employers allow employees to use vacation or personal days when work stoppages are unpaid.
If employees want to work from home, and you allow them to do so, you must pay them. Check your state laws.
Early Closing
When you send everyone home and close the facility, typically policies call for paying for the whole day if the closing is more than halfway through the workday and for one-half day if the closing is before the halfway mark. Again, you may elect to pay for hours worked.
If you do not officially close, but allow those concerned to leave, you general do not pay the people who choose to leave.
Remind Employees of Your Policies
Remind employees of your policies concerning emergency closings and compensation, and tell them how to access them. You do not want to surprise workers concerning their pay.
Skelton Crews
When the stoppage is over, you may want skeleton crews to clean and prepare the facility or continue services before the other employees return. Tell employees asked to work that they may refuse if they feel they would endanger themselves.