Can my employer deduct holiday pay when I worked the holiday?
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Can my employer deduct holiday pay when I worked the holiday?
I am full-time exempt and my company pays its employees for holidays – 8 hours straight pay. I recently worked a holiday for 5 hours. When I received my statement and check that I was paid for 5 hours worked and 3 hours for the holiday. I asked my Office Manager to explain. She stated that I worked 5 hours. and get paid for the hours worked and paid 3 hours. for the holiday for a total of 8 hours straight time. Shouldn’t I get paid 8 hours. for the holiday and 5 hours for the hours I worked for a total of 14 hours.?
Asked on February 17, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Colorado
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Holiday pay is not legally mandated. This means that a company is not required to give it. Accordingly, to the extent an employer chooses to provide such compensation, it has a great deal of discretion over how much to pay. This is true so long as this action did not constitute some form of legally actionable discrimination or violate the terms of an employment contract/union agreement.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
There is no right to holiday pay, unless you have a written employment contract guarantying it: your employer is free to pay whatever it likes for holidays--or to not pay anything at all. Whatever holiday pay plan or policy your employer has is legal. You were paid 3 hours for not working; considering that there was no legal obligation to give you any paid holiday time, you have actually still come out ahead.
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