Employers have the right to dock an employee’s pay due to many grounds like the following:

• Prolonged or short-term absence without official leave
• Persistent or chronic absenteeism
• Theft
• Habitual tardiness
• Taking a leave in very excessive amounts
• Other unbecoming behavior related to work discipline

These improper working behaviors are often the reasons why employers come to a decision of docking employee pay of a specific worker. However, there are also some inconveniences that this action can bring about to the employers specifically monetary losses compared to the amount deducted to the employee’s pay.
It is essential that employers are aware of some basic guidelines to be followed in order to ensure that docking employee pay is implemented in the most legal manner. The following instructions and helpful hints can serve as useful information when thinking of docking employee pay as a disciplinary action:

• All employers should be familiar and have the proper knowledge about the Fair Labor Standards Act. Awareness of this regulation together with federal laws related to labor practices is one way to avoid implementing decisions that can result to actions punishable by law. For all intents and purposes, all employers and business owners should know and keep in mind that pay reduction lower than the minimum wage is never permitted by law.
• Employers planning to dock an exempt employee should first evaluate the consequences that this decision may bring. Relatively, this decision will transform a salaried employee into an hourly employee permitted to receive overtime pay. This may then be a costly consequence for the employer.
• Ensure that all company policies are written clear in the employee handbook. It is vital that these policies are expressed in very simple declarations, which are easily understood by the entire workforce. All company policies should be written in the handbook including policies related to lost and broken company machineries and equipments because these unexpected occurrences in the workplace have its own equivalent penalty.
• One of the most essential measures that should always be observed and followed religiously by employers and employees is to keep an organized record of all employees’ absences. It should be a must to file all excuse letters and emails asking for permission for a leave. Doing this will allow employers to keep track of the amount and frequency of absences that a certain employee has.

It is important that disciplinary measures be implemented so as to ensure all employees should act accordingly in the workplace. However, it is also essential that employers and employee should have an open communication in order to create a harmonious working relationship in the workplace. This is also an effective management approach that can surely create positive business outcome. This atmosphere may even motivate the employees to work harder and follow all company policies resulting to more productive business. This would bring about less strain to both employer and employee. When these optimistic visions materialize, the thought and burden of docking employee pay would then be reduced to nothing.

Tags: absenteeism, Improper Employee Behavior, Minimum Wage, Pay Reduction