Two employees, one holiday, different pay results
Q : A friend and I work in the same company, but in different positions. The company was closed on July 5, for a “late observation of the July 4 Holiday.” I wasn’t paid for the holiday, but my friend received the same pay he always gets. Don’t employers have to pay everyone for national holidays? This doesn’t seem fair.
A : First things first: Under the law, private employers are not required to pay their workers for any holiday — not even Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), so-called “exempt” workers — those on salary — must receive their full pay if they work any part of the work week. My guess is that your friend might be an exempt employee, while you are hourly (or nonexempt).
While having a steady paycheck may be a nice thing, exempt workers sometimes end up with the short end of the stick. They are “exempt” from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the FLSA. An hourly worker who puts in 50 hours in a week will receive 10 hours as
overtime, at time and a half. An exempt worker might put in 50 — or 60 — hours in a week, but will receive the same pay as usual.
Until recently, some exempt workers could be paid as little as $455 per week, no matter how many hours they worked.
In January 2020, the minimum weekly salary increased to $684, or roughly $35,000 per year. In contrast, the minimum pay for an hourly worker in Michigan is $9.65, or just over $20,000 per year, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average wage is $25.67 per hour.
Attorney Daniel A. Gwinn’s Troy practice focuses on employment law, civil rights litigation, probate and trusts and estates. Contact him with your legal questions at daniel@gwinnlegal.com or visit gwinnlegal. com. “Ask the Lawyer” is informational only and should not be considered legal advice.