When an employee is accused of any sort of misconduct or illegal action, many places of employment will place those individuals on what is called administrative leave. This specifically is designed to ensure that while an employee is asked to take a temporary leave from work, they will receive their normal pay and benefits in the meantime. Pending an investigation, it is often beneficial for the employee to take a step out of the picture while the company does what is necessary to look into the allegations. However, many times employees are wrongly accused, and as a result there is a great importance for pay during this time period.
Situations that call for administrative leave are usually in the event that another co-worker has accused a person of an action that is considered to be either inappropriate or illegal. A broad range of possibilities fall under this category such as sexual harassment, discrimination, or other legal charges. Despite the allegations, every employee has the right to receive their usual pay and benefits until they are convicted of a crime.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice the managers of the company are left with the important choice of whether or not to keep an employee present during the time of an investigation, if they believe that it will cause distractions or otherwise be unhelpful for the workplace, then they have the right to send employees on administrative leave. However, according to government, no employee has the right to make an employee stay away from their work for longer than a 10 day period without approval from the Assistant Attorney General for Administration.
No matter the situation, employees have many rights that often time are not met for one reason or another. If you or someone you know feels as though your right to receive pay when asked to go on administrative leave has been unjustly striped from you, don’t hesitate to take legal action. Contact The Federal Practice Group today for inexperienced federal employee attorney who can help your case. Call our office today for more information!
