FMLA: Calculate holiday leave correctly

 

FMLA Insights has a very timely post about how to calculate FMLA leave around the holidays.

I’ll summarize it for you after the jump.

Regular leave

If an employee is out on regular FMLA leave, and would have missed the entire week anyway, the week is counted as a full week of FMLA leave. That Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday is of no moment. It might as well fall on a Saturday, like Christmas will this year.

Intermittent leave

If an employee takes FMLA leave in increments of one week or less, you count a holiday as an FMLA day only if the employee would have been scheduled to work on that holiday.

Huh?!? Let’s use an example.

If Sick Sally works on Monday and is out Tuesday and Wednesday on intermittent FMLA and then has Thursday off for Thanksgiving, only Tuesday and Wednesday count against Sally’s leave entitlement. If Sally works on Friday, then that day will not count against her FMLA entitlement. If Sally’s employer is open on Friday and Sally takes the day off to treat for her serious health condition, that day counts against Sally’s FMLA entitlement. If, however, Sally’s employer is closed on Friday, and she uses that day to go to the doctor, then that day is not counted against Sally’s leave entitlement.

Got it? Good.

Image source: businesspundit.com