Inclement Weather – To Pay or Not to Pay?
Employers should address two key questions with their inclement weather policy: 1) How will you notify employees if the company is open or closed? 2) How will employees be paid if the company is closed all day or for a partial day? Use the below guidance in conjunction with our Inclement Weather Flow Chart to help you answer these questions and more.
Hourly, Non-Exempt Employees:
The method of payment for hourly employees when they miss work due to inclement weather is quite simple. If a non-exempt hourly paid employee does not work, the company is under no obligation to pay the employee. This is true regardless of whether the company is open for business or if it is closed due to the weather. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) says that you must pay non-exempt employees only for time “actually worked.” The same holds true when an hourly, non-exempt employee comes in late or leaves early due to the weather. You only have to pay for actual time worked.
Salaried Exempt Employees:
For salaried exempt employees, the method of payment is more complicated. They are paid a set salary for all hours worked each week, regardless of quantity or quality. Salaried exempt employees must be paid if they miss work due to weather because the company is closed for business. However, payment to the exempt employee can be made through any applicable and available paid time off plan the company provides.
If the business is closed for an entire workweek and an exempt employee performs absolutely no work, the employer does not have to pay for that week. However, the FLSA was written in 1938. An exempt employee performing absolutely no work for an entire week with all of the technology at their fingertips is going to be almost all but impossible.
If a remote exempt employee’s office is “closed” to them (e.g., power outage), there are no specific regulations and limited case law to guide you. If they are truly unable to work at all from home and have no other office they can access, it is recommended to pay as if the business is closed. This should be clearly spelled out in an Inclement Weather policy.
If the business is open, and a salaried exempt employee does not report for work and performs no work at home, the company may require the employee to utilize available paid time off. In this case, if the employee has no available paid time off, it is permissible to dock their pay for the day because work was available, and the employee chose not to work. If the exempt employee works part of the day, they must be paid for the entire day. It is not permissible to dock an exempt employee for a partial day absence. Additional information on docking the pay of an exempt employee may be found in our Wage and Hour Toolkit.
Key Takeaways:
Companies should make their policies known to all employees in advance of inclement weather, and in writing. Keep in mind that companies should balance the legal requirements under the FLSA as well as the employee relations issues of paying or not paying employees for inclement weather days. Our sample Inclement Weather policy can be found in our Employee Handbook Template.
If your exempt employees are working outside of NC and SC, it is important to check both state and local laws as they may differ. If you have questions about inclement weather policies and practices, please contact a member of Catapult’s HR Advice team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are employers required to pay employees when they close for inclement weather?
It depends on employee classification. Non-exempt (hourly) employees generally do not have to be paid for hours not worked during a closure. However, exempt (salaried) employees under the FLSA must receive their full weekly salary for any week in which they performed any work — if you close on a Monday but they worked Tuesday through Friday, you must pay the full week.
Can an employer require exempt employees to use PTO for weather-related closures?
Yes. The FLSA allows employers to require exempt employees to use PTO or vacation time for office closures. This satisfies the salary basis requirement while reducing PTO balances. The employee must have a PTO bank — if they have no accrued leave, you generally still owe their full weekly salary if the closure is employer-initiated.
What if an employee can work remotely during a weather closure but chooses not to?
If the employer offers remote work and the employee has the ability to perform their job remotely, the employer may be able to deny pay for hours not worked (for non-exempt employees) or require PTO usage. Have a clear written policy stating remote work expectations during closures to manage this consistently.
What if an employee cannot come to work due to weather but the office is open?
For non-exempt employees, employers are generally not required to pay for absences when the employee chose not to report (provided it is not FMLA or ADA-qualifying). For exempt employees, deducting pay for a full day of absence taken at the employee’s choice is permissible, but deducting for a partial day is not — the salary basis test applies.
Do North Carolina or South Carolina have specific inclement weather pay laws?
Neither state has a statute specifically addressing inclement weather pay beyond the FLSA framework. NC and SC are both at-will states with no additional requirements. However, employer policies and employment contracts may create contractual obligations — always check your handbook language before making pay decisions during weather events.
