California May Release New Exempt Employee Regulations

Recently, the California Division of Labor Law Standards Enforcement (DLSE) presents an opinion to permit employers to deduct vacation and sick leave for an exempt employee’s absence of less than 4 hours. Then the deduction is included in the employers’ written policies.

Besides, the California employer to deduct a combination of paid sick leave and vacation for a partial-day absence. Currently, this opinion has no law force yet, so employers should wait for the California courts’ rule on the change.

This opinion letter has a great difference than that of before. Just as in other states, California pays an exempt employee who works part of the day for the entire day payment. However, the issue was how that payment would be tabulated.

The state regards that an exempt employee who worked a partial day could not have sick or vacation time of less than 4 hours deducted from the employee’s balance. That was in opposition to federal law as interpreted by courts in most of the states. California should update the California labor law poster and other labor law posters if the regulation has law force.