| The carrot and the stick are the oldest management | | | | careful here, if you require the employee to take |
| tools known to humankind. Sometimes, business | | | | vacation (or paid time off) for these partial day |
| leaders want to use money (one of the primary | | | | absences, you are violating the law as well. |
| carrots) as a stick by withholding from employees as | | | | 2. Don't vary the amount the employee is paid |
| an inducement to get behavior they want. In the wage | | | | (increase and decrease) based on the amount of time |
| and hour world, these sorts of tactics can create legal | | | | the employee works for the amount of work produce: |
| problems. Some of the legal problems that can arise | | | | Many employers want to incentivize their employees |
| are wage payment claims for current employees and | | | | by giving more money for more work and take away |
| failure to pay wages appropriately claims for | | | | money as a form of punishment. Although increasing a |
| terminated employees. Although those issues are | | | | salary on this basis is proper under wage and hour |
| troubling, the focus today is on using money to | | | | law, decreasing the compensation is not. |
| manage (or control) employees exempt from overtime | | | | In the end, the reason you make employees exempt is |
| under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Here are two | | | | so you don't have to pay them overtime. The trade |
| quick tips to be sure you are not falling into the "Money | | | | off is that the employee is entitled to a consistent |
| Management" syndrome: | | | | salary basis of payment. If you violate this salary basis |
| 1. Don't require exempt employees to take vacation | | | | of payment, then you lose the exemption and you |
| time when they leave early or come in late: Federal | | | | could owe thousands of dollars in overtime |
| wage and hour law requires employers to pay exempt | | | | compensation plus penalties and attorney's fees. |
| employees a salary. For your compensation system to | | | | Money is a great motivator. It can't be a manager for |
| meet that test, you may not make deductions from an | | | | your exempt employees. |
| employee's salary for a partial day absence. Be | | | | |