I was a salaried employee. I worked many weekends and whenever needed, without overtime. My salary was the same no matter what I worked.
My 13 week old son was hospitalized with RSV in February and I missed 2 days of work. My employer charged me 2 vacation days.
I did not work a full week my last week with this employer. I probably worked 20 hours, with my employers full knowledge. I did not work just the first 20 hours, but 20 spread over the 5 days, so he cannot say I was terminated midweek. On my last paycheck he did not pay me for the complete week.
I don’t know what your best legal option would be, but on the face of it, you seem to have a case. If you were salaried, technically you are supposed to get paid a full paycheck on your regular payday no matter how many hours you work. In practice, I believe the rule is that if you work at least one hour on a given day, you are entitled to one day’s pay at your normal salaried rate. This is why some employers have complicated rules about how small an increment you are allowed to use vacation time in.
We need more info…
What state do you work/live in?
How many employees work at your company? And I mean total employees for all locations that work for that particular company.
Is your pay rate more than the twice the minimum hourly rate in your state?
Do you have mandatory family medical leave laws in your state?
Did you sign a contract to work with this employer? What does the contract say?
Are you working for a corporation, a sole-propriator, or a governmental agency?
It’s not as easy as it seems to determine if you have something as of yet…
The best bet is to contact your state labor department. Believe me if you are owed money they will get it.
That said state laws and local laws vary. In a vast majority of state (including ILLINOIS), the courts have ruled that pay must be paid based on how it is acrued for on your P&L.
For instance the last hotel I worked for and others I have worked for in the past pay salary like this.
Let’s say you make $50,000.00. So based on a 40 hour week you make (50,000/52)/40 or $24.04 an hour.
But several places I’ve worked for pay like this… Instead of actually paying you 8 hours per day 5 days a week they are paying you 7 days a week and 5.71 hours per week.
Because you are exempt (salaried) overtime does NOT come into play. They can require you to work as much overtime as needed and they DON’T have to pay you for it. (BTW in absence of a law employers can also require employees to be on the call 24 hours a day. Since there is no definte court rulings on this)
So you would first need to find out how the pay is spread out.
Upon seperation employers are allowed to dock you for things like unreturned uniforms, locks, final cleaning of said uniforms (even if you clean them and returned them) and anything assigned to you and missing. This is why you should always do an exit interview and make H/R sign off. NEVER sign off on anything H/R give you. Often they will say “well you won’t be eligable for rehire.” Don’t sign. If you ever go back that in itself won’t hurt you.
Or if you feel you must make them sign a statement saying they won’t fight unemployment. In Illinois for example an employer has 2 years to contest your claim.That means you could find yourself repaying your umemployment. This happens a lot if there is no H/R manager then they get one. They often go back and contest all unemployment claims.
But the easiest thing is to contact the wages and hours division of your state labor board. They are good at getting your money.
Every employer I have had has paid me even sick leave when I have told them I intend to take it up with the labor board. They don’t want the bother of a few hundred bucks. 'Cause the fines are enourmous if they are found in the wrong.
Ok if it will help…here are the answers to your questions…
Virginia…10 employees total…my pay is more than 2x minimum…no contract…it is a corporation…
FWIW I know I am not eliglible for FMLA benefits for when my son was sick. I am just wondering if he should have made me take vacation. I actually DID do some work from the hospital room…