Docking Exempt

[mjmc]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

If an "exempt employee" does not have any sick time available, nor does he/she have any vacation time available, and he/she comes in to work, stays for ... say ... four hours at work and then tells the manager that he/she is not feeling well and needs to go home. As an exempt employee is the company required to pay the employee for the "full day" of work?

Another questions .....

If the company issued a cell phone to an employee, and an employee gets fired from his job, and does "not" return the company cell phone (let's say the employee got authomatic deposit and received all his pay). What can the company do to (if anything) to get the cell phone back?

Thanks for the help.

[pattytx]

First question. No. If an exempt employee works any part of a day, he must be paid for the entire day, unless on intermittent FMLA or it is his final day of work for the employer.

Second question. Generally speaking, you cannot hold a paycheck pending return of company property, nor can you deduct the value of the property from the employee's final check without the employee's express authorization. You can file civilly for the return of the property.

Having said all this, Georgia is pretty lax when it comes to such employee protection. However, the exempt docking issue is a Federal Wage and Hour issue.

[withonel]

Not a legal opinion but a suggestion, if it is a company paid cell phone, call the cell phone company and have the number disconnected. Send the employee an invoice for the cost of the phone, requesting payment of the invoice or the return of the equipment by a certain date. If nothing is received, file a small claims suit for the cost of the telephone.
Hopefully the employee signed something when you issued the phone acknowledging the company equipment and his/her responsibility for returning it.