Tracking time off for salaried employees

Q. If a company tracks employees’ vacation, sick and personal time off, can we make deductions from accumulated time for everyone who takes time off, including salaried employees? I’m talking about deducting it from the accrual, not the pay. I’ve heard that I can’t deduct vacation, sick leave or personal time if the salaried employee worked at least four hours during that day. – S.W., Florida

A. You heard wrong. There is no such four-hour rule. You can (and should) deduct time from employees’ vacation, personal, and sick banks for time off.

It’s permissible to reduce accrued leave for the time employees are absent (whether it’s a partial day or full day) without affecting the salary basis of payment so long as the employee receives his or her full guaranteed salary. You must pay employees their full salary even if they have no accrued benefits in their leave plan and the account has a negative balance.