# Being paid after being snowed in? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089 "2010-01-07T23:04:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/21 "2010-01-08T17:20:51Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > We don’t have snow days here. We have snow months, and you have to go to work every friggin’ day. Hah - we get “the City refuses to clean the streets” days - if you can’t get out of your neighbourhood, you can’t get to work. You might think you could take the bus, but after seeing them sliding down the street sideways, that would be a “nope.” ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/22 "2010-01-08T17:52:01Z")
It’s astonishing to me that anyone would _expect_ to be paid for snow days. If you’re not working and the business is closed…why should one be paid? It’s not a “benefit” like sick time or vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/23 "2010-01-08T18:23:08Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > We don’t have snow days here. We have snow months, and you have to go to work every friggin’ day. Amen brother. Business continues as usual here, and if you can’t make it, then you take vacation, work from home, take unpaid leave, or perhaps a sick day if your company allows that kind of manipulation of hours. In 25 years (to the week) of working full time I have never once NOT made it into work because of the weather. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/24 "2010-01-08T18:24:34Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > It’s astonishing to me that anyone would _expect_ to be paid for snow days. If you’re not working and the business is closed…why should one be paid? It’s not a “benefit” like sick time or vacation. Yeah. I guess employees and their bosses should ignore their contracts. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/25 "2010-01-08T18:31:27Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > It’s astonishing to me that anyone would _expect_ to be paid for snow days. If you’re not working and the business is closed…why should one be paid? It’s not a “benefit” like sick time or vacation. By closing and paying your employees you are stopping them from driving/walking/bussing in weather that will cause accidents. It’s basically stopping people from doing something stupid that will harm them and ultimately your business should they be unable to come to work after the accident. I can work from home when it is really bad out but I would prefer that my coworkers stay at home and not get killed. I need them, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/26 "2010-01-08T18:39:51Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > By closing and paying your employees you are stopping them from driving/walking/bussing in weather that will cause accidents. > > It’s basically stopping people from doing something stupid that will harm them and ultimately your business should they be unable to come to work after the accident. > > I can work from home when it is really bad out but I would prefer that my coworkers stay at home and not get killed. I need them, after all. Where the heck are you, Moosonee? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/27 "2010-01-08T18:44:03Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > We’re not talking about places where the company itself shuts down, we’re talking people who are unable/ **unwilling to put in the effort to get into work** , although if they did get there there would be work to do. (Bolding mine.) We had a heavy snow here the other day, and management later decided to waive any disciplinary points for people who got in late. Pissed me off royally. I even said to my boss, “Boy, what a chump I am for getting up early and getting to work on time. Guess I should have slept in.” (He got my point but it wasn’t his decision.) When you reward people for being lazy, how do you think that affects the morale of those who _do_ make the effort? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/28 "2010-01-08T19:52:01Z")
Inclement weather isn’t the employee’s fault, but it’s not the employer’s fault, either; it shouldn’t be taken as a given that the employee will (or won’t) get paid for snow days. Being a federal employee, my colleagues and I do get paid when circumstances force the closure of the lab where we work. Snow days (where the lab is closed for the day0 are rare; they happen maybe once every year or two. More often they’ll allow us to show up to work an hour or two late (to compensate for slow road conditions, or wait for the plows to improve the roads). There have also been occasional power outages that shut down the lab. We always get paid for those absences. Several years before I started working at the lab, the US congress reached an impass over approval of the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The lab (and other nonessential federal facilitiies) actually shut down for a couple of weeks until congress finally got their shit together. During that time people couldn’t/didn’t come to work. They also didn’t receive any pay _during_ the shutdown, but they did receive backpay _after_ the shutdown, including interest. Basically anyone who had enough cash in their bank account to coast through the shutdown got to enjoy an extra two-week vacation that year. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/29 "2010-01-08T21:15:42Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > It’s astonishing to me that anyone would _expect_ to be paid for snow days. If you’re not working and the business is closed…why should one be paid? It’s not a “benefit” like sick time or vacation. Well, some businesses _choose_ to pay their employees for snow days. It IS a benefit, like health insurance or vacation time, even if providing it is not mandated. Companies can also offer free gym memberships, free coffee service, or a variety of other, non-mandated benefits to their employees. However, every company I’ve worked at where such things were offered it was the _company_ making the decision, not the employees. In fact, at my last big corporate job they would _call you_ early in the morning (they have an automated system) because if the weather was so bad they were closing the office they didn’t want you on the road even attempting to to get to work. These were very rare occasions, usually after authorities urged a halt to non-essential travel or had closed major roads. It was also used for power outages (again, rare) or any situation which made coming to work inadvisable. The idea was the reduce company liability and comply with local authorities - which is not a bad stance coming from a corporation. Other times, we were given permission to arrive late when roads and travel were delayed, again, after official announcements by local authorities. There were one or two occasions where they sent people home early, usually for health/accident prevention reasons or when urged to do so by local authorities. It was also a business where shutting down for a day or two would harm no one, unlike a hospital or clinic where doing so could have serious health repercussions. But there’s nothing that ever said the company MUST compensate employees for snow days. The rules where clearly stated in the company handbook, but also the disclaimer that these decision and any compensation would be made solely by the upper management, at their discretion. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/30 "2010-01-08T21:21:25Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Where the heck are you, Moosonee? I do not get the reference. I live in Ontario. We get maybe one or two days like this a year. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/31 "2010-01-08T21:29:44Z")
The company I work for has this policy, which is similar or identical to the policies of other companies I’ve worked for: 1.) **Really bad weather** : The office closes. Everyone gets to stay home and is paid normally. 2.) **Pretty bad weather, but not bad enough to shut the office down** : People are expected to come in, or at least work from home (with managerial approval or if they have a prior arrangement to do such at their own discretion). If someone feels that they cannot safely get to work, but they are unable or unwilling to work from home that day, they aren’t forced to come in, but if they want to be compensated normally, they must use a vacation day. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/32 "2010-01-08T21:49:58Z")
I work for a large university. The university is sometimes declared closed due to inclement weather. If that declaration is made before the start of normal working hours, it is paid leave. If the declaration is made after the start of normal working hours and you are already at work, you have paid leave for the rest of the day. If you didn’t bother to come to work, you have to take a vacation day. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089/33 "2010-01-09T03:12:39Z")
At the bank I work for, if it’s bad weather and the _individual_ decides not to come in (but the company is still open), you have to take your own personal time or not get paid for it. However, if the company decides to not open the branches, we get paid for the time we were scheduled. We have no choice but to not come in; they can’t penalize us for that decision. And that actually happened earlier this winter. We received almost a foot and a half of snow overnight. The company closed because they knew no one would come to the bank… and no one could make it in! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-paid-after-being-snowed-in/524089.md?page=1)