{
    "schema": "amendsignal.record/1",
    "generated_on": "2026-11-04",
    "publisher": {
        "name": "AmendSignal",
        "url": "https://amendsignal.com/"
    },
    "notice": "Coverage is limited, so a missing record does not mean nothing changed. General information, not legal advice. Check the official source. Please cite the record's url.",
    "change": {
        "id": 64,
        "url": "https://amendsignal.com/changes/wage-and-hour-division-says-partial-week-school-closures-do-not-count-against-intermittent-family/",
        "title": "Wage and Hour Division says partial-week school closures do not count against intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act leave",
        "change_type": "guidance",
        "change_type_label": "Opinion letter",
        "status": "guidance_issued",
        "status_label": "Issued as agency guidance",
        "status_statement": "As of our last check on November 2, 2026, this is agency guidance, not a rule. It explains how the agency reads the law and does not create a legal requirement on its own.",
        "significance": "No new requirements",
        "jurisdiction": {
            "code": "US",
            "name": "United States"
        },
        "authority": {
            "name": "Wage and Hour Division",
            "short_name": "WHD"
        },
        "identifiers": [
            {
                "type": "opinion_letter_number",
                "label": "Opinion letter",
                "value": "FMLA2026-1"
            }
        ],
        "dates": [
            {
                "type": "publication",
                "label": "Published",
                "value": "2026-01-05",
                "precision": "day"
            }
        ],
        "in_short": {
            "what_changed": "The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued an opinion letter on how a school closure of less than a full week (for example, a snow day) affects Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. Closure time is not charged to employees taking less than a full week of leave, but a full week of leave still counts as a full week.",
            "whos_affected": "Schools covered by the FMLA, and the human resources and payroll staff who track employee leave. It matters most for employees on intermittent or reduced schedule leave.",
            "what_to_do": "This opinion letter creates no new duties for employers. Consider checking how your leave tracking handles partial-week closures and \"make up\" days for employees on FMLA leave."
        },
        "summary": "In an opinion letter dated January 5, 2026, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) explains how a school closure of less than a full week affects leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). For an employee on less than a full week of leave, closure time is not counted unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work and used leave for that time. For an employee on a full week of leave, the whole week still counts. The letter answers one requester's facts and creates no new legal requirement.",
        "business_functions": {
            "state": "limited",
            "functions": [
                {
                    "slug": "human-resources",
                    "name": "Human resources"
                },
                {
                    "slug": "payroll",
                    "name": "Payroll"
                }
            ]
        },
        "added_on": "2026-11-03",
        "updated_on": null,
        "updates_in_progress": null,
        "last_checked": "2026-11-02",
        "record_url": "https://amendsignal.com/changes/wage-and-hour-division-says-partial-week-school-closures-do-not-count-against-intermittent-family/record.json",
        "what_changed": [
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says that when a school closes for part of a week while an employee uses less than a full week of FMLA leave, the closure time is not counted as FMLA leave, unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work then and used FMLA leave for that time.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opening summary",
                        "excerpt": "the period during which the school is closed is not counted as FMLA leave, unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work during the period and used FMLA leave for that time"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says that when a school closes for part of a week while an employee is using a full week of FMLA leave, the entire week is counted as FMLA leave.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opening summary",
                        "excerpt": "When a school closes for part of a week during which an employee is using a full week of FMLA leave, however, the entire week is counted as FMLA leave."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says it does not matter whether the closure was planned or unplanned, or what caused it.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "Whether the closure was planned or unplanned has no impact on the amount of leave an employee"
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "Nor are the specific reasons for the temporary closure material to the analysis."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "WHD says scheduling a \"make up\" day for the closure does not change the analysis, but an employee's ability to take FMLA leave on a make-up day is judged on its own. Generally, an eligible employee with a qualifying need and leave remaining may use FMLA leave on that day.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "on a “make up” day must be evaluated independently of the day that “make up” day replaces."
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "the employee may use FMLA leave on that"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The requester had proposed that whether the school schedules make-up days should decide how the closure affects leave. WHD did not adopt that approach.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Background",
                        "excerpt": "You propose that whether the school schedules “make up” days for the days the school was closed for inclement weather should"
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "whether your employer requires an employee to report to work on or for a “make up” day in the"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "who_is_affected": [
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The letter answers a question about school employees when a school closes for less than a full week due to bad weather.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Background",
                        "excerpt": "You ask how to calculate an employee’s FMLA leave use when a school closes for less than a full"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "The opinion is based only on the facts the requester described, and WHD says other facts might lead to a different conclusion.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Note (end of letter)",
                        "excerpt": "This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request"
                    },
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Note (end of letter)",
                        "excerpt": "The existence of any other factual or historical background not contained"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "text": "The employees whose leave balances are most affected are those taking FMLA leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule, since they are the ones who take less than a full week of leave.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Taking of FMLA Leave",
                        "excerpt": "Employees who use FMLA leave on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis may not have their"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "business_implications": [
            {
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "text": "Schools that automatically charge FMLA leave on a closure day (for example, a recurring weekly appointment that falls on a snow day) may be over-charging leave and may need to adjust leave balances or tracking rules.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "the employer school should not deduct time for that day from the employee’s FMLA entitlement"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "text": "For employees on a full week of FMLA leave, a closure day does not give back any leave, so tracking for those employees does not need to change.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "may deduct a full week’s worth of leave from the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "text": "Requests for FMLA leave on make-up days need their own review, separate from the closure day they replace.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "on a “make up” day must be evaluated independently of the day that “make up” day replaces."
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "required_actions": [
            {
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "text": "Under the FMLA, an employee using intermittent or reduced schedule leave may not have the leave entitlement reduced beyond the amount of leave actually taken. The letter restates this existing requirement of the Act.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, B. Taking of FMLA Leave",
                        "excerpt": "Employees who use FMLA leave on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis may not have their leave reduced “beyond the amount of leave actually taken.”"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "recommended_actions": [
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider reviewing how your leave tracking or human resources system handles partial-week closures for employees on intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave, so closure time is not charged unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opening summary",
                        "excerpt": "the period during which the school is closed is not counted as FMLA leave, unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work during the period and used FMLA leave for that time"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider checking recent closure days (such as weather days) to see whether FMLA leave was charged to employees on intermittent leave for time the school was closed.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "the employer school should not deduct time for that day from the employee’s FMLA entitlement"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider telling supervisors that FMLA leave requests for make-up days should be reviewed on their own merits.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "on a “make up” day must be evaluated independently of the day that “make up” day replaces."
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "text": "Consider comparing your own facts to the requester's before relying on the letter, since WHD says different facts might lead to a different answer.",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Note (end of letter)",
                        "excerpt": "This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "required_actions_assessment": null,
        "applicability": [
            {
                "criterion": "where",
                "label": "Where",
                "answer": "United States, nationwide",
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "evidence": []
            },
            {
                "criterion": "employer_type",
                "label": "Employers",
                "answer": "Schools that are covered employers under the FMLA; the letter was written about a school.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "the employer—here a school—is temporarily closed for less than a full"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "size",
                "label": "Size",
                "answer": "The letter sets no size threshold of its own; it speaks of covered employers under the FMLA without defining them.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "General Legal Principles, A. FMLA Entitlement",
                        "excerpt": "The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "industries",
                "label": "Industries",
                "answer": "Education: the letter addresses schools and school employees.",
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opening summary",
                        "excerpt": "how a school closure of less than a full week impacts the amount of leave a school employee uses"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "functions",
                "label": "Functions",
                "answer": "Human resources and payroll staff who track and deduct FMLA leave.",
                "kind": "inference",
                "kind_label": "Our analysis",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "such time during the school closure should not be deducted from the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "applies_if",
                "label": "Applies if",
                "answer": "A school closes for part of a week while an employee is on FMLA leave.",
                "kind": "fact",
                "kind_label": "From the source",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opening summary",
                        "excerpt": "When a school closes for part of a week during which an employee uses less than a full week of"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "criterion": "action",
                "label": "Action",
                "answer": "Check that closure time is not charged to employees on less than a full week of FMLA leave.",
                "kind": "recommendation",
                "kind_label": "Our suggestion",
                "evidence": [
                    {
                        "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf",
                        "locator": "Opinion",
                        "excerpt": "the employer school should not deduct time for that day from the employee’s FMLA entitlement"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "open_questions": [
            {
                "question": "Does WHD apply the same reasoning to partial-week closures at employers that are not schools?",
                "context": "The letter answers a school's question and is based only on the requester's facts, so it does not say whether other employers can rely on it."
            },
            {
                "question": "Would the answer on make-up days change if a school's make-up days were not scheduled to meet instructional-hour requirements?",
                "context": "The letter's make-up day conclusion rests on those days appearing to be scheduled for instructional-hour mandates and unrelated to the employee's leave."
            }
        ],
        "events": [
            {
                "event_type": "originating_action",
                "label": "Issued",
                "occurred_on": "2026-01-05",
                "summary": "FMLA2026-1: How a school closure of less than a full week impacts the amount of leave a school employee uses under the FMLA.",
                "source": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf"
            }
        ],
        "corrections": [],
        "sources": [
            {
                "label": "How a school closure of less than a full week impacts the amount of leave a school employee uses under the FMLA.",
                "publisher": "Wage and Hour Division",
                "role": "primary",
                "url": "https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/FMLA2026-1.pdf"
            }
        ]
    }
}