The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for specific family and medical reasons. While FMLA itself does not guarantee paid leave, many employers offer paid leave or allow the use of accrued paid time off, such as sick leave, vacation, or holidays, to run concurrently with FMLA. Understanding how holidays interact with FMLA helps employees plan absences, track leave accruals, and determine compensation during time off.
What FMLA Is And How It Works
The FMLA entitles eligible employees to up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for qualifying reasons, including the birth or placement of a child, serious health conditions, and care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition. The leave is protected, meaning the employer must restore the employee to the same or an equivalent position with the same benefits when they return. FMLA leave can be taken intermittently or as a continuous block, depending on the qualifying reason and the employer’s policies.
Key points include that leave is counted in equal units to the employee’s usual work schedule (hours or days) and that the 12-week limit resets only after the designated 12-month period ends. Employers may require medical certification for serious health conditions and provide notice requirements to request leave in a timely manner.
Do Holidays Affect FMLA Leave?
Holidays themselves do not automatically extend or create additional FMLA leave. However, how a holiday is treated can affect the counting of FMLA time if the employee is on FMLA leave at the time of the holiday. In practice, two common scenarios occur:
- Holiday falls during FMLA leave with paid holiday entitlement: If the employer assigns a paid holiday, and the employee would ordinarily work that day, the paid holiday can be counted as part of the FMLA leave if the absence is for a qualifying FMLA reason. In this case, the time off is still FMLA-protected, and the total FMLA time used may include the holiday day.
- Holiday falls during a period not using paid leave: If the employee takes a holiday as a paid benefit but is not using additional FMLA leave that day, the holiday pay does not count against the FMLA leave balance. The FMLA leave would be charged only for the days the employee is actually on leave for a qualifying reason.
Labor guidance indicates that FMLA leave runs concurrently with other qualifying leaves (such as sick leave or vacation). This means that if an employee uses accrued paid time off for a FMLA-qualifying absence, those hours count toward the 12-week entitlement. The precise treatment of holidays can vary by employer policy and state law, so employees should consult HR or the company’s FMLA policy for specifics.
Counting Leave Under FMLA: Hours, Weeks, And Concurrency
Leave counting depends on whether the employee works on an hourly or salaried basis and on the employer’s tracking practices. Generally, FMLA leave is counted in hours for hourly employees and in calendar days or workdays for salaried employees, aligned with the employee’s normal work schedule. When paid leave runs concurrently with FMLA, that time counts toward the 12-week limit.
Illustrative scenarios:
- Full-time hourly employee using FMLA for a serious health condition: If the employee takes 40 hours of FMLA in a workweek, those 40 hours count toward the 12-week FMLA entitlement.
- Part-time employee on FMLA with intermittent leave: Leave is counted in hours based on actual hours absent for the qualifying reason, limited by the 12-week period in 12 months.
- Employee uses vacation time during FMLA: Vacation hours used while on FMLA run concurrently with FMLA and reduce the remaining FMLA entitlement.
Note that the 12-week limit is per 12-month period, which may be defined by the employer’s chosen method (e.g., rolling, calendar year, or 12-month period measured forward from the first FMLA leave). It is essential to verify the company’s method because it directly affects how much leave remains at any point.
Getting Paid While Taking FMLA: Paid Leave And Eligibility
The FMLA itself guarantees unpaid leave, but it does not prohibit paid leave. Employers may provide paid leave options that can run concurrently with FMLA, including:
- Sick leave or illness-related paid time off
- Vacation or paid time off (PTO)
- Holiday pay when a holiday coincides with FMLA leave or a qualifying absence
- State and local family or medical leave programs that supplement FMLA
If an employee has accrued paid time off, they can often apply it to a FMLA-eligible absence. When paid leave is used concurrently with FMLA, it reduces the amount of unpaid leave needed and still provides pay during that period. However, once the paid leave is exhausted, any remaining FMLA leave is unpaid unless other paid leave or benefits apply.
Eligibility for FMLA does not depend on using paid leave first. An eligible employee may take FMLA leave, with the option to substitute paid leave for part or all of the FMLA period, if the employer agrees and policy allows. Employers must maintain job protection and health benefits during FMLA leave, whether or not paid leave is used concurrently.
Practical Tips For Employees
- Review your employer’s FMLA policy and the state-specific rules, as policies vary by company and state.
- Plan ahead for holidays during FMLA by confirming whether paid holidays will run concurrently with FMLA leave and how they impact your remaining entitlement.
- Track leave meticulously by recording dates, hours, and whether paid leave was used concurrently with FMLA.
- Coordinate medical certifications when the leave is for a serious health condition to ensure smooth approval and documentation.
- Consult HR or a benefits advisor to understand how state leave laws interact with FMLA and whether any additional paid leave programs apply.
Understanding these nuances helps employees maximize job protection and compensation opportunities. For most workers in the United States, FMLA provides job security and leave rights, while holidays and paid leave options can influence the duration and payment of that leave when properly coordinated.