What to do after salaried employee maxes out leave

Q. I have a salaried employee who used all his vacation and sick time. He is allowed a total of 21 days and has used 22, but he wants to take more vacation in November and is always sick (so he’ll probably be out more). Can I deduct his pay if he’s out more? Or can I take days from next year? This may be an ongoing thing every year.

A. You can deduct pay if the employee is out for one or more days for personal reasons other than sickness or disability, or if the employee is out for sickness or disability and the deduction is consistent with your policy.

If the employee is out for a health condition covered by the FMLA, you do not need to pay him for that time. If the employee is taking more vacation than is allotted to him, you also can advise him that he is not entitled to take any more time (if that is consistent with the practice you follow with other employees). If he persists, you can treat it as a disciplinary issue. You can do the same thing if the employee is excessively absent for illness if (1) your policy permits it, (2) you treat other employees consistently, and (3) the FMLA or the ADA do not cover the illness.