We get paid on the 1st and 15th of each month. Our Employee Manual states “Should payday fall
We get paid on the 1st and 15th of each month. Our Employee Manual states “Should payday fall on a recognized holiday in which the company is officially closed, you will be paid on the last working day prior to the scheduled holiday”. The owner wants to change this to the next day that we are opened. Jan. 1st was an issue and he wanted to pay us on the 2nd. Is this legal in Texas?
1 answer | asked Jan 5, 2012 10:20 AM [EST] | applies to Texas
Answers (1)
According to the TWC ( Texas Workforce Commission) web site, an employer may change the pay day to a day after a holiday.Specifically:
If a regular payday falls on a day that the employer is not open for business (weekend or holiday), and employees ask to be paid before the payday, employers sometimes worry that they might have to do that, especially since Section 61.013 of the Act provides that "[a]n employer shall pay an employee who is not paid on a payday for any reason, including the employee's absence on a payday, on another regular business day on the employee's request." The statutory provision is not a model of clarity, because it can be understood by some in such a way as if it requires an employer to pay an employee on a day of the employee's choosing. However, TWC does not interpret it that way, and thus adopted rule 40 T.A.C. sect; 821.22 that makes it clear that "another regular business day" means a day after the designated payday on which the employee is not paid. Here's the rationale behind that interpretation: logically, whether an employee "is not paid on a payday" cannot be ascertained until the payday has come and gone without the employee being paid. Thus, the regular business day that is acceptable as an alternative would have to be a day after the payday. Of course, the employer does not have to let itself be limited by that deadline – it can pay prior to the deadline, meaning that it could elect to pay the employees before the normal payday. The important thing, though, is that the employer does not have to pay before the payday.
Paydays may be changed, but it would be best to give employees advance written notice thereof setting out the next three paydays - 1) the last old payday; 2) the first new payday; and 3) the next-following new payday. That way, employees will not be able to credibly claim confusion, and the requirement of paying at least twice each month will be met.
posted by Jill J. Weinberg | Mar 6, 2012 09:19 AM [EST]
If a regular payday falls on a day that the employer is not open for business (weekend or holiday), and employees ask to be paid before the payday, employers sometimes worry that they might have to do that, especially since Section 61.013 of the Act provides that "[a]n employer shall pay an employee who is not paid on a payday for any reason, including the employee's absence on a payday, on another regular business day on the employee's request." The statutory provision is not a model of clarity, because it can be understood by some in such a way as if it requires an employer to pay an employee on a day of the employee's choosing. However, TWC does not interpret it that way, and thus adopted rule 40 T.A.C. sect; 821.22 that makes it clear that "another regular business day" means a day after the designated payday on which the employee is not paid. Here's the rationale behind that interpretation: logically, whether an employee "is not paid on a payday" cannot be ascertained until the payday has come and gone without the employee being paid. Thus, the regular business day that is acceptable as an alternative would have to be a day after the payday. Of course, the employer does not have to let itself be limited by that deadline – it can pay prior to the deadline, meaning that it could elect to pay the employees before the normal payday. The important thing, though, is that the employer does not have to pay before the payday.
Paydays may be changed, but it would be best to give employees advance written notice thereof setting out the next three paydays - 1) the last old payday; 2) the first new payday; and 3) the next-following new payday. That way, employees will not be able to credibly claim confusion, and the requirement of paying at least twice each month will be met.
posted by Jill J. Weinberg | Mar 6, 2012 09:19 AM [EST]
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