Help Wanted: Employee questions paycheck deductions because she was on the job both times

DEAR CARRIE: I am an exempt employee. We have an electronic payroll system that I am required to log into each day.

Recently, we were told that if we didn't log in, we wouldn't get paid, even though other electronic proof exists that we have been working, such as our desktop login, emails and work time stamped in a specific platform. Because of a system error, I wasn't credited for a vacation day and my pay was docked. I was also docked for a full day because I forgot to log in. I logged in the other nine days of our 10-day pay period, however. Can my employer legally dock my pay because of a machine error? Does failure to log in meet the criteria for docking exempt employees? Is my employer required to do due diligence to determine if an exempt employee did not show up for work? And, finally, is my employer required to notify me before my pay is docked? _ Docking Ire

DEAR DOCKING: If you are truly an exempt employee, your employer is treading on thin ice, and maybe has fallen through. Exempt employees largely fall into executive, administrative, professional or outside-sales categories under federal labor law. Someone in the executive category, for example, performs work that mostly consists of managing.