Okay To Require Exempt Employees To Dip Into Annual Leave Time When Absent For Portions Of A Day.

Employer has a practice of requiring exempt employees to use their annual leave hours when they are absent from work for portions of a day. A 2005 appellate decision [Conley v. Pacific Gas & Electric (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 260, [31 Cal.Rptr.3d 719]] established that California law does not prohibit such a policy, but plaintiff contends both that the Conley case was wrongly decided and that the employer here is not permitted to deduct from an exempt employee’s [paid with a salary] leave bank when the employee is absent for less than four hours. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer. In affirming, the appellate court stated: “We conclude that regardless of whether the absence is at least four hours or a shorter duration, a requirement that exempt employees use Annual Leave time for a partial-day absence does not violate California law.” (Rhea v. General Atomics (Cal. App. Fourth Dist., Div. 1; July 21, 2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 1560, [174 Cal.Rptr.3d 862].)