FMLA law counts holidays in leave totals
Employees on intermittent FMLA leave have no special rights with regard to legal holidays, a federal court recently ruled.
The case in Massachusetts marked the first ruling on this question:
When an employee is on intermittent FMLA leave, do holidays that fall within the leave period count against the leave?
The court said yes, they do.
NO SPECIAL DEAL
FMLA law is clear that legal holidays falling within ordinary FMLA medical leave of a week or more count against the leave.
But in this case, the employee argued that her employer broke the law when it counted three holidays against her intermittent leave. Her point?
The FMLA provides that only “leave actually taken” during an intermittent leave period counts against an employee’s 12-week entitlement.
But the court said this provision applies only where, for instance, an employer wrongfully charges an employee who takes an intermittent leave day with a full week of absence.
The provision does not favor people who take intermittent leave over on ordinary FMLA leave, the court ruled.
Cite: Mellen v. Boston University, No. 07-1151, 1st Cir., 9/21/07.
