Wage and Hour and Payroll Practices in the Age of COVID-19 

March, 2020 - Andy Naylor

Employers nationwide are grappling with the new normal to balance how, where, and when their employees will work with the interests of employee health and safety and ever-tightening government mandates to self-quarantine. Below are some FLSA reminders and typical issues we are fielding from clients across many industries.

Some of my employees are self-quarantined and working from home. Do I have to pay them for this work?

Employees working at home or remotely are still working and entitled to compensation for all time worked. While not necessarily an issue with exempt employees, employers must still track and record nonexempt employees’ work time and pay them for any overtime.

I’d like some of my employees to come in over the weekend and do a deep clean of the office. Since this is not their regular work, and I am just asking for volunteers, I don’t have to pay them for this time, right?

Nonexempt employees cannot be unpaid “volunteers” to assist with special duties or projects that arise while employers are working to stay ahead of COVID-19. For example, these workers should not be asked to work after hours without pay to help with a “deep cleaning” of the workplace. Such effort constitutes work, and impacted employees should be paid for their time.

I have to immediately reduce headcount because of lost business. When do I need to pay impacted employees? Can I wait until the next payroll cycle?

Employers that anticipate furloughing or laying off employees should double-check their local and state laws to ensure impacted employees are timely paid. Some localities require separated employees to be paid on their final day of work.

Because we have fewer customers I cannot keep my hourly staff busy and am reducing hours. Do I still need to pay for the 40 hours originally scheduled?

Employers need only pay hourly, nonexempt employees for the hours they actually work. The FLSA does not require employers who are unable to provide work to non-exempt employees to pay them for hours the employees would have otherwise worked.

I’ve got more managers than I need right now. Can I let them off for the rest of the week but have them use vacation time?

Exempt employees may be required to take vacation or utilize their Paid Time Off or leave a bank account in the case of an office closure, provided the employees receive in payment an amount equal to their guaranteed salary. However, exempt employees who work only a partial week on account of an office closure, and who do not have any available PTO or leave, must nevertheless be paid for the entire workweek in order to remain exempt.

 

MEMBER COMMENTS

WSG Member: Please login to add your comment.

dots