(Published August 17, 2009)
I'm working from home today, and it's hot. For the first time all summer, I've left the air conditioner on in the bedroom so I'll have a place to retreat to (we don't have central air). The humidity is high, too, and for this northern girl, it's somewhat uncomfortable. I'm having nightmares about a power outage or the air conditioner breaking down. Sooner or later, that's going to happen to us all, even in the workplace. The question: What do you do?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has no laws regarding the temperature of most workplaces; they have guidelines, but they themselves say that they are only guidelines and not laws. Of course, if you have construction workers in Phoenix, Arizona, and the temperature is 115 degrees, then there are heat stresses to deal with. But for the average office with a malfunctioning air conditioner, OSHA is off the table. (Check your state laws, which may have requirements that federal law does not.)
So, what do you do when that happens? Do you require everyone to keep working without air conditioning, or do you send everyone home? There's no one right answer to this, as there are variable factors involved in making the decision. How long is it going to be out? Will sending the employees home disrupt business operations drastically, marginally, or at all? Can you give employees a choice?
For the sake of argument, let's assume that you decided to send people home, or to give them a choice of staying or leaving. Now, do you pay the ones who go home?
You have a lot of options for your non-exempt employees. Pay, not pay, require the use of vacation, allow the use of vacation. Any of the above are acceptable, legally. Once again, there's no one answer that's valid for everyone, and depends on the length of time the problem is anticipated to continue, as well as cost factors.
Of course, for exempt employees, you cannot dock them in partial day increments, though you can require them to use vacation time. If it goes into full days, you cannot dock them if you close, but you can if they opt not to come in. (This, of course, assumes that they really take the day off and do not work from home.)
My personal preference, if the bottom line can support it, is to pay employees for the day you send them home. If it goes into a second day, give non-exempt employees the choice of using vacation or unpaid time and pay the exempt employees as required by law. This applies also in the winter if the heat goes out, or any time of year if weather conditions force a closing.
In the current economy, it may not always be possible to provide pay for unworked time where not required by law. But if it is possible, I try to remember that it's a bad economy for the employees, too, and that they shouldn't be penalized for a problem that's not their fault. They showed up for work; we should pay them.
There are a few states (not many) where non-exempt employees who show up for work and who are sent home before the end of their scheduled shift are entitled to a specific number hours of pay, usually between two and four. When you make your decision, or weigh in on the group decision, be sure you're aware of any such law in your state and whether or not there is an "Act of God" clause exempting you for weather conditions or equipment failure.
Catherine Bannon is an HR consultant in Marshfield, MA (catherine.bannon@gmail.com). Bannon worked for 10 years in HR management before starting her consulting practice.
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