Managing FMLA leaves that fall on holidays

Administering the FMLA is difficult. When an FMLA leave falls on a holiday, it becomes even more complicated. Employers must know how to answer three holiday-related questions. First, if a holiday falls during an employee’s FMLA leave, does that holiday count against the employee’s FMLA entitlement? Second, how is the FMLA administered when there is an extended plant, office or school shutdown? Lastly, must an employer provide holiday pay to an employee on FMLA leave?

Does a holiday count against an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement?

While many employers keep track of their employees’ FMLA entitlements in terms of days or even hours, the FMLA and its implementing regulations provide that employees receive 12 workweeks of leave in a one-year period. As a result, leave is calculated in workweek increments. Under 29 C.F.R. § 825.200(h), if an employee is off work for an entire workweek, even if it is a week in which a holiday falls, the employee uses a week of FMLA. Only when an employee is off work for less than an entire workweek will the employee have used a partial week of FMLA. For example:
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