Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog
With extreme winter weather striking many parts of the country (and soon to bear down on this area), employers must consider the possibility of short-term closures. Whether an employer closes for a day or a few days, the closure affects all employees, including those on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. As with all aspects of FMLA leave calculation, if you have questions, make sure you get reliable answers by speaking to a knowledgeable Atlanta FMLA leave lawyer.
These issues are of keen importance to both employers and employees alike. An employer who deducts time from an employee’s total FMLA leave entitlement risks exposing itself to civil liability for FMLA interference. For employees, these issues are vitally important given the limited FMLA leave the statute provides (a maximum of 12 workweeks in a 12-month period).
Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division fielded a question about short-term business closures and FMLA leave. The entity seeking clarification in this case was a school employer dealing with a closure of less than one week.
In answering the question, the division also highlighted additional scenarios in which a business might close on a weekday. For example, if a holiday fell on a weekday, the holiday generally “does not count against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.” That is not true, however, if the worker was scheduled and expected to work that holiday. In that case, the employee’s absence on that holiday would count against their total FMLA leave entitlement of 12 weeks.
Taking a Full Week of Leave Versus a Partial Week
For non-holiday closures, such as weather-related closures, the rules differ, and the outcome depends on whether the employee’s FMLA covered a whole week of leave or less than a week. Take, for example, a worker who has taken a full week (Monday-Friday) of FMLA leave, but their employer later closes on that Friday due to inclement weather. That weather-related closure has no impact on that worker’s leave calculation. The employer may still deduct a full week from the worker’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave, even though the employer’s business was closed on Friday and no one was required to report to work.
On the other hand, for workers who take less than a whole week, things are different. The division provided the example of an eligible employee who uses FMLA leave to cover absences every Tuesday afternoon for physical therapy appointments. If the employer closed on a given Tuesday due to inclement weather, the rules require the employer to deduct no time from the employee’s total FMLA entitlement.
The division’s letter also underscored that the rules of FMLA leave entitlement are the same regardless of whether the closure was planned or unplanned and that “the specific reasons for the temporary closure” do not matter in terms of calculating FMLA leave balances. Additionally, in a matter of particular interest to school employers and employees, whether an employer requires employees to report to work for a “make-up” day does not affect the rules for calculating FMLA leave.
If you have questions about the FMLA and FMLA leave entitlement, it is vital to get accurate answers. For the reliable information and advice you need, reach out to the experienced Atlanta FMLA leave attorneys at the law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert. Our team regularly handles client issues related to FMLA entitlement and eligibility. Contact us through this website or at 404-873-8048 to schedule a consultation today.