# Exempt employee docked pay during slowdown **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367 "2013-02-15T03:56:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367/21 "2013-02-19T04:53:56Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I am trying my best to think of a job that would appropriately be classified as exempt and simultaneously require someone to fill in when other people take time off. The only ones that come close are nurses and teachers- but in my understanding, the substitutes or floaters in those professions are paid by the shift/day worked, not a set salary no matter how much or how little they work. Most truly exempt jobs don’t lend themselves to someone coming in as a floater when another employee takes a day or a week off. I know medical professionals who work like this. They average a bit lower than 40 hours per week, it can be highly variable in terms of shifts and number of hours in any given week. Pharmacists, Physician Assistants and Physical Therapists (not PT Assistants, they are non-exempt and indeed unionized). ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367/22 "2013-02-19T11:59:44Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > AND They do have an “anti retaliation policy”… I’ve never had a complaint in the last 7 years working for the company, or the last year and a half in my position. If they try fireing me out of the blue, figure that is illegal, and if anything, suing them might actually make me MORE protected then before. You know as well as I do that they will just quickly manage you out instead of outright firing you. You’ll have more documentation of every slight mistake you make every day until it’s enough to get you out. It won’t make you protected, it’ll make you a target, they’ll just cover their asses more when they finally get rid of you. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367/23 "2013-02-19T16:52:56Z")
Whether or not you file an FLSA claim against the company or not, make sure you file for unemployment benefits. You don’t have to be completely unemployed - a loss of wages due to a reduction in hours should qualify you for benefits. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367/24 "2013-02-19T20:58:33Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > You know as well as I do that they will just quickly manage you out instead of outright firing you. You’ll have more documentation of every slight mistake you make every day until it’s enough to get you out. > > It won’t make you protected, it’ll make you a target, they’ll just cover their asses more when they finally get rid of you. First of all, it depends on what state the OP is in. If it is an at-will state, they really don’t need a reason at all to fire her. That said, there are Federal and State laws against retaliation against an employee who exercises their legal rights. And that includes “constructive dismissal” - passive agressively making an employees life miserable so they quit on their own. A lot of it depends on the company too. Large companies aren’t single monolithic entities, in spite of what people think. ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367/25 "2013-02-20T04:20:02Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > I know medical professionals who work like this. They average a bit lower than 40 hours per week, it can be highly variable in terms of shifts and number of hours in any given week. Pharmacists, Physician Assistants and Physical Therapists (not PT Assistants, they are non-exempt and indeed unionized). Nail, meet Head… Though the people with their own “spot” will normally average 77 hours or so (hence my base), since I fill in whenever needed, I actually average out to more then that. > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > You know as well as I do that they will just quickly manage you out instead of outright firing you. You’ll have more documentation of every slight mistake you make every day until it’s enough to get you out. > > It won’t make you protected, it’ll make you a target, they’ll just cover their asses more when they finally get rid of you. I know, and this is the one thing I’m afraid of, hence why I opened this whole post in the first place. I know I don’t have to worry about my immediate boss, since I’ve proven myself to him (Heck, I just had a whole email series brought up that we were being jipped on insurance reimbursement with Doxycycline 100mg due to the recent AAC increase, I was the only one in at least the whole region to bring it up, made it all the way to PA for a resolution. What floater do you know that does that?) The ONLY reason I’m still a floater is because I’ve made it clear that I’m waiting for a spot near my house. Being picky about getting a store, but willing to go wherever as a floater. Though, my worry about the levels above my boss, is the whole reason I’ve documented everything, and am crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s… > [@msmith537](#): > > First of all, it depends on what state the OP is in. If it is an at-will state, they really don’t need a reason at all to fire her. > > That said, there are Federal and State laws against retaliation against an employee who exercises their legal rights. And that includes “constructive dismissal” - passive agressively making an employees life miserable so they quit on their own. > > A lot of it depends on the company too. Large companies aren’t single monolithic entities, in spite of what people think. First, I’m a “He”, not a “her” (though, if you guessed my profession, it is an easy mistake to make 🙂 ) Second, from what I can tell, the state I’m in (my location in my profile is accurate), doesn’t have any laws more strict the federal ones. So, strictest laws take effect, so pretty much only worried about federal laws, so FLSA . Third, I’ve read those laws about passive aggressive firing. I’m in an at will state, so from what I can see, if I file a lawsuit, I’m actually better protected from losing my job then if I didn’t. Since I can blame any loss of job due to the lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367/26 "2013-02-20T15:13:45Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > Second, from what I can tell, the state I’m in (my location in my profile is accurate), doesn’t have any laws more strict the federal ones. So, strictest laws take effect, so pretty much only worried about federal laws, so FLSA . > > Third, I’ve read those laws about passive aggressive firing. I’m in an at will state, so from what I can see, if I file a lawsuit, I’m actually better protected from losing my job then if I didn’t. Since I can blame any loss of job due to the lawsuit. Yeah. But suing your company is still an expensive, time consuming pain in the ass. It’s far better IMHO to make the company work for you instead of fighting the whole company. I know everyone on this board says “HR is not there to help you”, but I think that’s beause they don’t really understand how companies work. HR’s job of protecting the company from lawsuits works in both directions. If you don’t receive satisfaction from your immediate supervisor, your next step should be to contact HR and explain the violation to them. Then it’s their job to tell the VP “sorry. You can’t not pay those hours.” You need to have that documented anyway if you plan on bringing a lawsuit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exempt-employee-docked-pay-during-slowdown/650367.md?page=1)