The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) FMLA Opinion Letter

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new FMLA Opinion Letter on January 5, 2026, clarifying how school closures due to inclement weather affect FMLA leave usage.  The DOL stated that the rules for calculating the amount of FMLA an employee utilizes is similar to the rules involving FMLA leave taken during a week in which a holiday falls:  If a school closes for part of a week (e.g., one to four days) during which an employee is using a full week of FMLA leave, the entire week (i.e., five days) counts as FMLA leave regardless of whether the closure was planned or unplanned, and regardless of the reason for the temporary closure.  On the other hand, when an employee uses FMLA intermittently or for less than a full workweek, the period during which the school is closed is not counted as FMLA leave unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work during that period and took FMLA leave for that scheduled work time.  For example, if the employee was scheduled to take FMLA leave on Tuesday and Thursday during a particular week, and the school closes all day on Tuesday due to a winter storm, then the school employer would not deduct time for Tuesday from the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement, but would count Thursday as FMLA leave.  These rules apply whether or not the employee is required to report to work on a “make up” day in the future.

For a copy of the opinion letter go to: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf