|
As
reported by Waag and Co. in numerous articles, newsletters
and bulletins last year, in May 2001, the Chief Counsel for
the DLSE issued an opinion letter saying that in order for
an employee to be exempt, that employee must be paid on a salaried
basis that is determined by a monthly standard. This meant
that any calendar month in which the exempt employee worked
even a single hour, the exempt employee would need to receive
his/her full month's salary. This is different from the federal
standard (and the previously long-standing state standard)
that in order to be exempt, the employee must receive his/her
full weekly salary for any workweek in which s/he performed
any work.
On
March 1, 2002, California Labor Commissioner Arthur Lujan issued
a letter to Bill Dombrowski, the Chair of the Industrial Welfare
Commission, explaining that California will follow the weekly
salary basis test. As a result, the following guidelines will
apply to exempt employees:
- An
exempt employee must receive his/her full salary for any
payroll workweek in which s/he performs any work without
regard to the number of days or hours worked. Conversely,
an exempt employee need not be paid for any workweek in which
s/he performs no work.
- The
deductions from salaries for full-day absences due to vacation
and illness (provided there is a bona fide sick-pay plan)
are permissible. However, because vacation pay is considered "wages," an
employer cannot charge an exempt employee's vacation pay
for partial-day absences.
- The
payment of a proportionate part of the exempt employee's
salary for the time actually worked in the initial and terminal
weeks of employment is consistent with the salary-basis rules.
|
|
This
material is a general overview of the subject matter, and
is not meant to provide professional opinions regarding any
specific case, matter, or set of facts, or to substitute
for the professional advice of Waag and Co. Instead, please
contact Susan S. Waag, Esq. for additional information. Use
of this information is allowed, provided that credit is given
to: Susan S. Waag, attorney; Waag and Co.; September 2001
Employer Bulletin; INFO@WaagandCo.com;
(805) 783-2300
|
below.
All other Bulletins are in standard HTML format. If
you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is required
to open, view, and print the bulletins, you can download
the application FREE from the link below.
