Do salaried employees get paid if they don’t work? If you’re classified as exempt, the short answer is yes for any week in which you perform some work, and no for a full week in which you do none. Federal law guarantees your full predetermined salary for any workweek you do any work at all, regardless of hours or days, with a handful of narrow exceptions that let an employer dock pay in full-day increments.
Who This Rule Covers
The salary protections below apply to employees classified as exempt under federal labor law — exempt, that is, from overtime requirements. To qualify, you must perform certain executive, administrative, or professional duties, be paid on a salary basis, and earn at least the federal minimum of $684 per week ($35,568 per year) as of 2026.1U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17A – Exemption for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer and Outside Sales Employees Some states set higher thresholds.
If you earn a salary but are classified as non-exempt, none of what follows applies to you. Non-exempt salaried employees are entitled to overtime beyond 40 hours a week, and their pay can generally be adjusted to reflect actual hours worked. The strict protections against docking are tied to exempt status, not to being paid a salary.
The Core Rule: Full Salary for Any Week You Work
Under 29 CFR § 541.602, your employer must pay your full predetermined salary for any week in which you perform any work, even one day or a few hours.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis Your pay can’t be reduced based on the quality or quantity of your work. Finished your projects in 30 hours instead of 40? The full weekly amount is still owed.
The rule also protects you when the employer is the reason you aren’t working. If you show up ready to work but there’s nothing to do, or the office sends everyone home early, your salary can’t be docked for the missing time.3U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Overtime Security Advisor – Compensation Requirements The salary is a guaranteed weekly floor.
The flip side: if you perform no work at all during a full workweek, your employer isn’t required to pay you for that week.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis
Partial-Day Absences Can’t Be Docked
If you perform any work during a day, your employer cannot reduce your salary for the hours you missed. Leaving at noon for a doctor’s appointment, arriving two hours late, or ducking out early for a personal errand — none of these can result in a smaller paycheck.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis An employer that subtracts four hours of pay because you left at lunchtime is violating federal standards.
Your employer can still require you to use paid time off or vacation hours to cover the absence. The distinction is that the dollar amount on your paycheck must stay the same, even if your leave bank is empty. Tracking the time is fine. Reducing your salary is not.
The FMLA Exception
The main exception involves the Family and Medical Leave Act. When you take intermittent or reduced-schedule FMLA leave, such as leaving early every Tuesday for ongoing medical treatment, your employer may deduct pay for those specific hours without jeopardizing your exempt status.4eCFR. 29 CFR 825.206 – Interaction With the FLSA This is a narrow carve-out for extended intermittent leave.
When Full-Day Deductions Are Legal
Full-day absences are where legitimate pay reductions become possible. The deduction must correspond to full days missed. Docking a day and a half for leaving early one day and missing the next is not permitted.
Personal Reasons
Your employer may deduct a full day’s pay when you are absent for one or more complete days for personal reasons unrelated to sickness or disability.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis Taking a Friday off to move, for example, could result in a one-day deduction if you don’t have vacation time to cover it.
Sickness or Disability
Deductions for full-day illness absences are handled differently. Your employer can only withhold pay if the company has a bona fide plan providing compensation for lost salary — such as sick days, short-term disability insurance, or a paid leave policy.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis Once you exhaust your allocated sick leave under that plan, the employer may then dock pay for additional full-day absences. Without a formal replacement plan, docking pay for sick days risks a violation.
Disciplinary Suspensions
Two situations allow unpaid disciplinary suspensions in full-day increments. First, infractions of safety rules of major significance, such as smoking in a facility handling flammable materials. Second, violations of written workplace conduct rules, such as harassment or violence policies, provided the policy is written, distributed, and applied in good faith.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis Half-day disciplinary docking is not permitted and can jeopardize your exempt classification.
Jury Duty, Witness Fees, and Military Leave
Your employer cannot dock your pay when you miss work for jury duty, a court appearance as a witness, or temporary military leave. The regulation does allow a specific offset: if you receive jury fees, witness fees, or military pay for a particular week, your employer may subtract those amounts from the salary owed for that same week.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis If you receive $50 in jury fees during a week when your salary is $1,000, your employer could pay you $950 for that week. The offset only applies to the specific week you received the outside payment.
Office Closures and Holidays
When your employer closes the office for weather, a holiday, or a slow business stretch, what happens to your pay depends on whether you worked at all that week.
If the office closes for one or more days but you worked other days that same week, you must receive your full salary. Federal guidance specifically lists deductions for days the employer chose to close as improper.3U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Overtime Security Advisor – Compensation Requirements A snowstorm or slowdown is the employer’s cost to absorb, not yours.
If the business shuts down for a full workweek and you perform no work at all, your employer is not required to pay you for that week.
One common misconception: federal law does not require private-sector employers to pay you for holidays, vacations, or other time off as a standalone benefit.5U.S. Department of Labor. Holiday Pay The protection for exempt employees is narrower: if you work any part of a week that includes a holiday closure, your full weekly salary is still owed. Anything beyond that is a matter of company policy.
First and Last Weeks of Employment
The full-salary guarantee doesn’t apply during your first and final weeks on the job. Your employer may pay a proportionate amount based on the days you actually worked.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17G – Salary Basis Requirement and the Part 541 Exemptions Start on a Wednesday, and your employer can pay you three-fifths of your normal weekly salary. Same logic if you leave mid-week.
If Your Pay Is Improperly Docked
A one-time payroll mistake does not automatically strip you of exempt status. If the improper deduction was isolated or inadvertent and your employer reimburses you, the exemption stays intact.7eCFR. 29 CFR 541.603 – Effect of Improper Deductions From Salary The reimbursement is what matters.
Employers can also protect themselves through a “safe harbor” by maintaining a written policy against improper deductions, providing a complaint mechanism, reimbursing employees for any deductions already made, and committing to comply going forward.7eCFR. 29 CFR 541.603 – Effect of Improper Deductions From Salary When an employer keeps docking pay after complaints, the exemption can be lost for affected employees, which could open the door to back overtime claims.
If you believe your salary has been improperly reduced, document each instance and raise it through your employer’s complaint process. If the deductions continue or the reimbursement doesn’t come, you can file a complaint with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.