Snow Days, Closures, and Pay: What HR Needs to Know – Winter weather can force offices to close or send employees home early. When that happens, pay rules depend on how employees are classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and, in Massachusetts, state wage laws. Here’s a simple breakdown to help HR stay compliant. Exempt vs. Nonexempt: The Basics: Nonexempt employees are usually paid hourly and are paid only for the time they actually work, unless company policy says otherwise. Exempt employees are usually paid a salary and must generally receive their full weekly pay if they perform any work during the week, with limited exceptions. (These rules apply as long as employees are properly classified.) When the Office Is Closed: Closed all week, no work done: Exempt employees do not have to be paid. Closed all week, but work is done at home: Exempt employees must be paid for the week. Closed for a day and nonexempt employees work remotely: They must be paid for the hours worked only. Employers should have a clear time-tracking method in place. When the Office Is Open: Exempt employee can’t get in due to weather and does not work: The employer may deduct pay for full days missed. Exempt employee works part of the day (including from home): Pay cannot be docked. Nonexempt employee can’t make it in: No pay is required, but employers may allow use of PTO or vacation if their policy allows. Early Closures and Reporting Pay: If a nonexempt employee reports to work and is sent home early, Massachusetts law requires the employee to be paid for all hours worked and may require reporting pay so the employee is paid for at least three hours, depending on the schedule. Essential Employees and Extreme Situations: If the employees are completely relieved from duty and are able to use the time for their own pursuits (there is food available, relatively comfortable places to sleep, a television or other entertainment, etc.) then you do not need to pay them for the time that they are not actually performing work. If they are relieved from duty but there is absolutely nothing they can do with their time, not even somewhere to sleep (besides the hard floor), then an argument can be made that you have to pay. Even then, you would only have to pay the minimum wage, not the employee’s regular wage rate, though that is likely to be received very poorly by employees. Remote work adds another layer to snow-day decisions. Even a small amount of work—like answering emails, can trigger pay obligations, especially for exempt employees. Clear policies and good communication go a long way in avoiding disputes. Bottom line: Plan, document your policies, and be consistent. Snowstorms may be unpredictable, but your pay practices shouldn’t be. Source: AIM HR Edge, 1/6/2026
OFCCP Actively Investigating Complaints – Following a temporary period of administrative abeyance in 2025 after the revocation of Executive Order 11246, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has resumed processing and investigating complaints involving violations of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 503) as of late 2025. Because of this, it may be reasonably assumed that the agency is also investigating complaints stemming from Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) violations. New Complaint Forms - In connection with these developments, it is worth noting that OFCCP has implemented revisions to its employment discrimination complaint information collection. Because OFCCP no longer has legal authority to accept or investigate complaints based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, the agency updated its complaint forms to remove references to Executive Order 11246 and its protected categories, as well as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The revised forms include: Pre-Complaint Inquiry Form (CC-390): Used to determine whether OFCCP has jurisdiction prior to the filing of a formal complaint. Formal Complaint Form (CC-4): Used to officially file an employment discrimination complaint with the agency. While OFCCP’s complaint jurisdiction is now limited to disability discrimination under Section 503 and protected veteran status under VEVRAA, overall complaint volume, burden hours, and submission procedures remain largely unchanged. Accordingly, it is critical that federal contractors and subcontractors remain fully compliant with all Section 503 and VEVRAA obligations, including: Soliciting voluntary self-identification of disability and protected veteran status. Preparing and maintaining annual Affirmative Action Plans (AAPs) for individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. Listing all job openings with the state and local Employment Service Delivery Systems (ESDS). Ensuring non-discrimination in all employment practices on the basis of disability and veteran status. Disability and Veteran Regulations Still in Effect: Despite the revocation of Executive Order 11246, OFCCP still administers and enforces Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, which prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment against qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, respectively. As the agency charged with enforcing these statutes, OFCCP is required to promptly investigate complaints alleging violations of these regulations. Additionally, with new leadership and potentially significant funding on the horizon, federal contractors should expect more activity from the agency in the near future. Source: SHRM HR Daily, 2/4/2026, by Brittany Dian-Hansell
What HR needs to know about hiring in the wake of a layoff; A reminder of the dos and don’ts when reorganizing your workforce. - Would news of another layoff announcement make you want to throw in the towel? Bear with us—at least until the end of this article… Travel company Expedia announced layoffs affecting 162 employees earlier this week while simultaneously boasting about new job openings, the Seattle Times reported. Expedia is not alone in making such an announcement: Financial software company Intuit followed a similar playbook when, after laying off 1,800 employees in 2024, it shared plans to hire for thousands of new AI roles, HR Brew previously reported. What’s going on? Some companies have been redirecting funds from talent to tech in response to investor demands and competitor pressures to double down on AI, Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, previously told HR Brew. “They might be incentivized right now to say that [layoffs are] because of AI, because they know that other companies are signaling this, and they know that investors are wondering whether they’re implementing AI at a time when all their competitors are,” Zhao said in November 2025. How does this strategy impact employees? When companies try to hire beneath the shadow of a mass layoff, it can spook candidates, who may feel uneasy about working for an organization that just made cuts, Joe Mull, an employee commitment expert, previously told HR Brew. “Companies end up shooting themselves in the foot,” Mull told HR Brew in 2024. “If you have a tarnished reputation, or…if it’s just a perception that, ‘Hey, this organization is quick to lay off people,’ then that organization may end up having to overpay to acquire talent.” Why fire and then hire? When companies conduct layoffs, only to turn around and hire new talent, some may wonder: Why didn’t they just upskill or reskill their existing employees? Cy Wakeman, author and founder of leadership consulting firm Reality-Based Leadership, previously told HR Brew that upskilling and reskilling usually takes more time than hiring talent with the skills. “What companies have to look at, in talent, is we can buy it, which is hiring it. We can rent it, which is like gig economy or consultants. Or we can build it,” Wakeman told HR Brew in July 2024. “When you look at the gap between what people were doing and what you need them to do, if the gap [of reskilling takes] over 18 months, we usually don’t decide to build the talent.” Best practices. While communicating a layoff is never easy, there are best practices HR can follow. “It’s not a mass email. It’s certainly not deactivating people’s badges before they walk in the door,” Michele Bousquet, Strava’s chief people officer, told an audience at LinkedIn’s Talent Connect conference in 2024. There should also be a coordinated effort, or “tiger team,” between the CEO, HR, legal, and communications when companies are about to announce a layoff, Teal Pennebaker, a founding partner at Shallot Communications, previously told HR Brew. “[Layoffs] often require an outside person, a comms person, who can come in and be another set of eyes to say, ‘Hey, I hear that you need to get XYZ across, but in order for this to land with employees in a way that feels compassionate, why don’t we consider doing it in ABC way?’” Pennebaker said. Source: HR-Brew.com/02/01/2026, by Mikaela Cohen
