Barner

This case involves a dispute between a municipality and some of its employees concerning the treatment of employee absences for payroll purposes. The district court held that the municipality’s policy of reducing certain employees’ accumulated but unused paid leave for absences of less than a day did not violate federal labor law, but that the possible reduction of those employees’ salaries for the same conduct did violate federal labor law. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

*1258 FACTS AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

The city of Novato, California (“City”), provides its employees with sick leave, vacation time, and other forms of compensated leave. During the time in question, informal City policy relating to employee absences of less than a full day had been either to deduct such absences from the employee’s unused leave time or, if the employee had exhausted his or her available leave time, to leave to the discretion of the City Manager what to do.

Gary Barner, Jerry Bennett, Brian Brady, and Richard Rudy (“Plaintiffs”) are permanent employees and members of the City’s police department management team. Brady and Bennett hold the rank of captain, while Barner and Rudy are…