Even if a company shuts down for a single day, the law requires employers to pay exempt employees. The most bare-bones a company can go is minimum wage. All nonexempt employees must be paid overtime, although companies can lower wages and the number of hours for hourly employees without any penalties. There are ways to reduce overhead without breaking labor laws. Instead of asking salaried employees to work without pay, companies might consider reducing wages temporarily.
Companies can even have temporary layoffs.
She says a weeklong layoff is legal everywhere except California, which mandates that layoffs be for at least a month. For this strategy to work, salaried employees must not work at all during the layoff period. Companies can temporarily lay off a handful of people. Often companies lay off their top earners temporarily for a significant boost. If they're all in their 40s and 50s, make sure no discrimination is involved.