On January 5, 2026, the Department of Labor issued Opinion Letter FMLA2026‑1, addressing how school closures of less than a full week affect the calculation of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave for school employees. The core issue raised was whether short-term closures—such as those caused by inclement weather—should reduce an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement when the employee is using either intermittent leave or a full week of leave. The DOL explains that the FMLA is structured around “workweeks of leave,” and the rules for holidays and full‑week shutdowns offer the framework for analyzing partial‑week closures.
For employees using intermittent or reduced‑schedule FMLA leave, the DOL makes clear that an employer may only count the amount of leave the employee actually needs and takes. If a school closes for part of a week and the employee would not have been expected to report to work during the closure, that time cannot be deducted from the employee’s FMLA entitlement. For example, if an employee normally takes FMLA leave on Tuesday afternoons but the school is closed all day Tuesday due to weather, the employee’s FMLA balance should not be reduced for that day because no work was expected.
The analysis changes when an employee is taking a full week of FMLA leave. In that situation, a partial‑week school closure does not alter the calculation: the entire week still counts as a full week of FMLA leave. Even if the school is closed for a day or two, the employee is already on continuous leave for the entire workweek, so the closure does not reduce the amount of leave used. The DOL emphasizes that this rule applies regardless of whether the closure is planned or unplanned and regardless of the reason for the closure.
Finally, the letter clarifies that “make‑up days” scheduled later in the year do not affect how FMLA leave is counted during the original closure. Those days are tied to instructional requirements, not to the employee’s FMLA usage. However, employees may still take FMLA leave on a future make‑up day if they are eligible and have remaining leave available. Overall, the opinion reinforces that FMLA calculations must align with the actual workweek and the employee’s expected work obligations, ensuring that employees are neither over‑charged nor under‑charged for their protected leave.
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