DOL Wage and Hour Division Clarifies How to Calculate Leave Usage

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division has issued a new opinion letter, FMLA2026-2, clarifying how to calculate leave usage under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when an employer shuts down operations for less than a full workweek due to unscheduled events, such as inclement weather. The letter explains how partial-week closures interact with both intermittent and full-week FMLA leave, and it reinforces prior guidance regarding holidays and full-week shutdowns. These clarifications have immediate implications for leave tracking, payroll coordination, and policy administration.

Quick Hits

• When an employee is using less than a full week of FMLA leave, hours that fall during a partial-week closure do not count against the employee’s FMLA entitlement unless the employee is scheduled and expected to work during the closure and actually uses FMLA leave for that time.
• When an employee is on a full week of FMLA leave, a partial-week closure does not change the calculation; the full week still counts as FMLA leave.
• The calculation of FMLA leave usage is not affected by whether the closure was planned or unplanned, or the reason for it.

Prior DOL Guidance on Holidays and Workplace Closures

The FMLA provides eligible employees with up to twelve weeks of leave in a twelve‑month period, measured in “workweeks.” FMLA leave may be taken continuously, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule, but employers may not reduce employees’ FMLA leave entitlement beyond the amount of leave actually taken. These core principles govern calculations when schedules are disrupted by holidays or closures.

The DOL’s regulations, as confirmed in a 2023 opinion letter, specifically address the intersection of holidays with an employee’s use of FMLA leave. If an employee is taking leave on an intermittent or reduced-schedule basis, a holiday does not count against the employee’s FMLA entitlement unless the employee is scheduled and expected to work on the holiday and uses FMLA leave that day. By contrast, if an employee takes a full week of leave, the entire week is counted against the FMLA entitlement, even if a holiday occurs within the week.

The same regulations also explain that, when an employer has ceased operations for one or more full weeks, and employees are not expected to report to work, those full weeks of workplace closure do not count against an employee’s FMLA entitlement. For example, a business closes down for two full weeks at the end of the year. Employees are not expected to report to work during that time. Those two weeks will not count against an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.

DOL Opinion Letter FMLA2026-2

The new opinion letter addresses partial-week, unscheduled closures not explicitly covered by the regulations. It applies the same principles: time during which the workplace is closed and an employee is not expected to work should not be deducted from the employee’s FMLA entitlement when the employee is taking less than a full week of leave. If the employee is out for a full workweek, however, a partial-week closure does not alter the calculation; the full week still counts as FMLA leave.

The DOL further underscores that whether a closure is planned or unplanned—and the reason for the closure—does not change the calculation of the amount of leave used. Any later “make‑up” days, such as those in school settings, do not retroactively alter how leave is counted for the closure week.

Practical Implications for Employers

Employers may wish to align policy language and payroll/HRIS configuration with these rules. Managers and leave administrators should understand that for partial-week closures, counting FMLA usage turns on whether the employee was scheduled and expected to work during the closure, and whether the employee was using intermittent versus full-week FMLA leave.

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