How to decide on closures, communicate quickly, and handle pay for hourly and salaried employees when snow, storms or floods disrupt work.
Bad weather decisions are made early in the morning, in a hurry, often by a single manager. Without a policy, each manager decides differently, employees hear about closures from social media, and payroll is left guessing who should be paid what. A short written policy answers the questions in advance: who decides, by when, how employees are told, how pay works and what employees should do if they cannot travel safely even when the business is open.
EZTime digital HR forms let you send, sign and file employee documents online.
The policy applies to snow and ice, hurricanes, tornado warnings, floods, extreme heat, wildfire smoke and power outages. The specific risks differ by region, so write the policy around the events that actually happen where you operate.
For businesses that must stay open, such as healthcare, security, utilities or grocery, the policy should name essential roles and explain any arrangements for them, such as staggered shifts or overnight accommodation.
A decision is only useful if employees hear it in time. Choose one primary channel and use it every time, then back it up.
EZTime announcements let managers send one message to a team or location and see who has read it.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees are generally paid only for hours actually worked. If the business closes and an hourly employee does not work, federal law does not require pay for that day. Many employers choose to pay anyway for short closures, or allow employees to use PTO; that is a policy choice.
There are exceptions to watch. Some states and cities have reporting time pay rules: if an employee reports to work and is sent home early, the employer may owe a minimum number of hours. Predictive scheduling laws in some cities can require pay for shifts cancelled at short notice, though many include exceptions for severe weather or emergencies. See our guides to reporting time pay and predictive scheduling laws. Employees who work from home during a closure must be paid for the hours they work.
Exempt employees are paid on a salary basis. Under federal rules, an exempt employee generally must receive the full weekly salary for any week in which they do any work, and the employer may not reduce the salary because work is not available, for example because the employer closed for weather (see 29 CFR 541.602). If the business closes for a day and the exempt employee worked other days that week, the salary is generally not reduced.
Federal Department of Labor guidance has generally allowed employers to require exempt employees to use available paid leave for a closure day, as long as the employee still receives the full salary. State law may limit this. If the employee chooses not to come in when the business is open, the rules differ again: full-day absences for personal reasons can sometimes be deducted. These distinctions are technical, so check with a professional before deducting anything. Our guide to exempt vs. non-exempt employees explains the salary basis test.
| Scenario | Hourly (non-exempt) | Salaried (exempt) |
|---|---|---|
| Business closes all day, no work done | Generally unpaid under federal law unless policy pays or PTO is used | Full weekly salary generally due if any work done that week |
| Delayed opening | Paid for hours worked; check reporting time rules | No deduction for the delay |
| Sent home early after reporting | Paid for hours worked; reporting time pay may apply | No deduction |
| Business open, employee chooses not to travel | Unpaid or PTO under policy | Full-day personal absence may be deductible in some cases; check rules first |
| Remote work during closure | Paid for hours worked, recorded as usual | Normal salary |
This table is a simplified summary of federal rules. State and local laws, union agreements and your own policy may provide more.
Even when the business is open, roads near some employees’ homes may be dangerous. A fair policy says employees should not take unsafe risks to get to work, explains how to report that they cannot travel, and states that weather absences under the policy will not be counted as unexcused under the attendance policy. Make the rule clear, so managers do not penalize one employee and excuse another.
For outdoor and field teams, include rules for working in extreme heat and cold: when work stops, rest and water breaks and how to report symptoms. OSHA publishes heat and winter weather guidance, and some states have their own heat standards.
Weather days create messy timecards: late arrivals, early departures, people working from home, and shifts that were cancelled after some employees already arrived. Record the actual clock-in and clock-out times, note the closure on the schedule and tag PTO or closure pay separately so payroll can see the reason. Review those days before approving the period. Our guide to timekeeping best practices covers approvals.
With EZTime, managers can cancel or move shifts in the schedule, send an announcement to everyone affected and see who has read it. Employees clock in from the mobile app whether they are on site or working from home, so the hours worked on a weather day are recorded accurately. Time off requests let employees use PTO for the day when your policy allows it.
| When | Who | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Evening before | Operations lead | Checks the forecast and warns managers that a closure is possible |
| 2 hours before opening | Owner or general manager | Decides: open, delayed start or closed |
| Within 15 minutes | Managers | Send one message to every affected employee through the team app |
| During the day | Managers | Record who worked, from where and for how long |
| Next payroll | Payroll | Applies the policy to hourly and salaried staff |
A timeline like this makes the policy easy to follow under pressure. Pair it with our holiday coverage schedule if you need a skeleton crew.
If some roles can work from home on weather days, say so in the policy and explain how that time is recorded. For hourly employees, remote hours are still hours worked and must be captured. For partial days, such as a delayed opening or early close, decide in advance whether you offer paid time off to make up the difference, and apply the choice consistently. See remote work policy and reporting time pay laws.
Tick each item that is already true for your team.
0 of 6. A storm today would cause confusion. Write the policy and name a decision maker first.
Under federal law, non-exempt employees are generally paid only for hours worked, so a closure day can be unpaid. Some state or local laws and your own policy may require or provide pay.
Generally no, if the employee did any work that week. The salary basis rules do not allow deductions because the employer made work unavailable.
Often yes under federal law, if your policy says so and exempt employees still receive their full salary. Some states limit this, so check local rules.
Your policy should say how to report it and whether the day is unpaid, paid or covered by PTO. Avoid penalizing employees for refusing unsafe travel.
They can. Some states require minimum pay when employees report and are sent home, though several have exceptions for events outside the employer’s control. Check your state.
Use one primary channel every time, such as a team app message or group text, and update the schedule so cancelled shifts show clearly.
Employees can fill in and sign forms like this in the EZTime app, and the signed copy lands in their digital employee file. For a team of 15, EZTime starts at about $30 a month ($2 per employee).