FMLA & Holiday

mlbarker · July 2007

If a holiday falls during an employee's FMLA leave, is that day counted against the 12 week period?

NaeNae55 · July 2007

We don't. The employee would have received the pay without the leave, and since we want to treat them as other employees we don't count the holiday towards their fmla hours.

If you have a policy of the employee having to work the day before and the day after a holiday to receive holiday pay, you might handle differently.

Good luck!

Nae

dlail · August 2007

Our FMLA leave is unpaid. If ees have STD, they are eligible for that. Company provides LTD @ 90 days. Our policy specifies that use of vacation time is optional unless the leave exceeds two weeks; available vacation time must be applied starting @ leave week 3; during leave, ee is ineligible for Holiday or Bereavement pay. Also we specify that WC is designated as concurrent FML. Only exception is WC leave exceeding 2 weeks - vacation time not applied. (most WC injuries do not involve lost time). All this is specifically defined in our policy, along w/ types of leave, definitions of qualified reasons, family member and serious health condition. Even w/ specific exclusions, ees are still confused and assume 3 days or more consecutive "out sick" satisfies FMLA, even if they haven't seen a doctor. "Serious" is a relative term . . .

Irie · July 2007

We count the holiday as FMLA. They are entitled to 12 weeks of elave and we count a week as M-F therefore we include the holiday as part of their 12 weeks.

LindaS · August 2007

The regulations state 12 weeks of leave. This means 12 regular workweeks, no matter what that is. As a result, you can count holidays as FMLA leave. I have been to many seminars and all the attorneys have agreed that this can be done. We count holidays as part of FMLA leave IF the EE would have been absent regardless of the holiday.

mlbarker · August 2007

Thanks all! I get it now.

FunHRBanker · August 2007

Do most of you pay the holiday or is it unpaid since the employee is not available for work?

mlbarker · August 2007

we do not pay since the ee is not actively at work.

NaeNae55 · August 2007

There are a lot of good arguments here. Someone said that at a seminar a lawyer said you could count the holiday as part of the fmla leave. Is that based on a court precedent, or based on the fact that no one has sued yet and won? Did he/she address holiday pay too?

I see the argument side that the employee is out for so many weeks and the holiday is part of the week. It makes sense. However, what about an employee who only takes partial weeks off (works M-F normally but goes on FMLA Fri of one week and comes back Wed of next week with holiday that Mon)?

I base FMLA on hours scheduled. If an employee is not scheduled to work weekends or holidays, then I don't charge those days to their FMLA time.

Our policy is that employees MUST use all leave time available before they can have leave without pay. It doesn't seem right to make an employee use PTO on a day they would have had holiday pay if they had been able to work. The intent of the law is to give an employee on fmla leave the same benefits as one who is continueing to work. That sounds like they should get holiday pay to me. I will admit though that I might be more likely to go the other way if I had employees who abused the system (so far so good).

MLBARKER: I think your company must decide how you want to handle this, just like you decide how you want to set up your vacation policy and other benefits. Look at the ramifications and the precedent you set and then go for it. Whatever you decide, good luck!

Nae

davids · August 2007

I agree with Nae. If the employee was not scheduled to work, we would not count the days towards FMLA. I previously worked at a Univeristy. We would not count break periods (spring break, Christmas, summer) towards FMLA if the employee was not scheduled to work during that period.

FMLA & Holiday

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