Employees’ Rights During Inclement Weather in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.

As a resident of Maryland, Virginia, or Washington D.C, dealing with inclement weather is a fact of life—especially during the winter season. We get snow just about every year, and snowstorms can make it difficult (if not impossible) to get to work safely. This raises an important question: When inclement weather prevents you from getting to work, what are your legal rights? Maryland employment lawyer Jay Stafford explains:

Getting Paid When You Can’t Get to Work

As a general rule, whether you have the right to get paid when you can’t get to work because of the weather depends on your employment status. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), for example, employees’ rights depend on whether they are (i) exempt or non-exempt and (ii) salaried or paid by the hour. Here are the three most common scenarios:

1. Exempt Employees Who Receive an Annual Salary

Most employees who receive an annual salary are “exempt” under the FLSA, which essentially means that they are not entitled to overtime in most situations. If you are an exempt employee who receives an annual salary, your employer cannot deduct pay from your salary if you miss time from work due to an approved weather-related absence. Likewise, if you cannot safely commute to work because of the weather, you are still entitled to your full salary as long as you are able to work at least a portion of the work week.

What if you and your employer disagree about what is safe? Short of pursuing formal dispute resolution proceedings (which may be an option), in this scenario, you may need to use your paid time off (PTO). However, if working from home is a possibility, then you may be able to work remotely instead of taking PTO. The same is true if getting to work is impractical for you but not for your coworkers.

2. Non-Exempt Employees Who Receive an Annual Salary

This scenario is less common, but it is still worth discussing for those employees who fall into this category. Broadly speaking, the same principles we just discussed for exempt salaried employees apply to non-exempt salaried employees as well. Your employer cannot reduce your compensation for weather-related absences unless you miss an entire work week or longer, and if you are unable to get to work but the office is still open, then you may need to take PTO.

3. Non-Exempt Employees Who Are Paid By the Hour

If you are paid by the hour, your employer is generally only required to pay you for the hours that you actually work. As a result, if you miss work due to the weather—whether because your employer is closed or because it is unsafe for you to drive—you won’t be entitled to compensation for your missed hours in most cases.

With that said, there are some exceptions—and you will want to make sure you are certain whether you have the right to be paid. For example, some companies in the region have policies that entitle their employees to pay during weather-related shutdowns. Collective bargaining agreements may entitle covered hourly workers to compensation for weather-related absences as well.

If you are able to work remotely during a winter storm, then you are entitled to compensation as usual. This includes not only compensation at your normal rate for your normal hours but compensation at the applicable overtime rate for any hours that you work in excess of 40 hours in a single work week.

Additional Rights Under State or Local Law

Along with the FLSA, state and local laws may entitle employees to pay during weather-related absences as well. In Maryland, for example, employees who need to take off from work to ensure that their family members are safe may be entitled to paid time off separate from their accrued PTO hours. If you need to take time off from work due to the weather, it is best to communicate with your employer proactively, and if you have questions about your legal rights, you should consult with a Maryland employment lawyer sooner rather than later.

Request a Confidential Consultation with a Maryland Employment Lawyer Today

Do you have questions about your legal rights as an employee when a winter storm prevents you from going to work? If so, we invite you to get in touch. To request a confidential consultation with a Maryland employment lawyer at The Law Firm of J.W. Stafford, please call 410-514-6099 or tell us how we can help online today.