Q.: We’ve had a problem with some teachers exceeding their allowed sick days. We’re considering making teachers pay for the cost of a substitute when this happens, as we understand other schools have a policy like that. Is this advisable?
A.:In a word, “no.” While we understand the “deterrent” intent behind this, we’re quite concerned about the risks involved in this practice and definitely recommend other alternatives. Among other issues, it’s very questionable whether this is a permissible deduction under pay regulations (i.e., it is generally not permissible for an employer to take a deduction from an employee’s pay without written authorization from the employee).
One alternative would be to consider shifting to a “paid time off” policy whereby sick days and personal days are lumped together and referred to as “PTO days”—i.e., days which can be used without the employee stating the reason. (Check with your employment attorney before making a change such as this, however, as this has “vesting” and “payout” implications in certain states). Even under a PTO policy, however, there still exists the potential for a teacher to exceed their allowed days off. Therefore, another alternative to consider would be simply deducting a full day’s pay for every full day that the teacher misses beyond the allowed limit. While this may, in fact, result in a greater deduction than would deducting the cost for a substitute’s pay, it is much “cleaner” and fully defensible, from a pay regulation standpoint. As with all legal matters, consult with your employment attorney before making any questionable deductions to pay—especially with regard to exempt employees (such as teachers), as you could be inadvertently damaging your ability to pay them on an exempt basis.
