The Department of Labor recently issued an opinion letter stating that employers cannot reduce the final paychecks of exempt (executive, administrative or professional) employees who have used more vacation, sick or personal leave time than they have accrued. To do so would destroy their exempt status and subject the employer to overtime pay retroactively. The remaining alternatives � limiting the use of unaccrued time, asking a departing employee to write a check or suing him for the value of the time � are not good.
– Cynthia Dixon