Legal Question in Business Law in Washington

Re: unpaid salary

Yes, the employer can do that unless the employee in question was also an exempt employee. Exempt employees include those who are managers, administrative assistants to managers, software designers, and members of a few other categories. If you are not sure if you are an exempt employee, check with the Dept of Labor & Industries, or post again with a rough description of what you do.

Another way to tell if you are exempt or not is if you have ever been paid overtime in your current job. If you have, you are probably not exempt, as employers also need not pay exempt workers overtime.

You may also want to pause to consider what might be going on here. It sounds as though the employer may be trying to "spread the pain around" a little, rather than just laying off one or two people. That may be a good thing, especially if you would have been one of the ones laid off. You may also want to consider why the employer decided to close for a half day, or for a day. For the most part, employers don't like to shut their businesses if they think they will lose customer revenue. Is this a slow time of year for this business? (For example, if you are a landscape designer, this time of year might be slow, but can be expected to pick up in the spring.) If so, relax a little now and get ready for the busy season. If this is not a seasonal business, and the drop in business cannot be explained, you may want to look beyond the missed day and a half of pay and consider what the long term prospects are for this employer.

Hope this helps. Good luck!