HR manager handling FMLA leave requests during the holiday season while maintaining compliance and operational coverage

The HR Manager’s Guide to FMLA During the Holidays

The holiday season brings unique challenges for HR teams. Leave requests spike. Staffing gets thin. And employees who have been managing chronic conditions all year sometimes choose the holiday season to take intermittent FMLA leave.

Some of those timing choices are entirely legitimate. Others raise questions. All of them require careful handling. Here is how to manage FMLA leave correctly during the holiday season without creating compliance exposure.

FMLA does not stop for the holidays

The most important principle to remember is simple. FMLA protections apply year-round. The holiday season does not create a period during which FMLA leave can be denied, delayed, or handled differently than it would be at any other time of year.

Employers who deny FMLA leave during the holidays because it is inconvenient, or who treat holiday-season FMLA requests with more skepticism than requests at other times of year, create interference claims. Operational inconvenience is not a defense to FMLA interference.

That said, there are legitimate tools available to manage FMLA leave in ways that minimize operational disruption. Using those tools correctly is what this guide is about.

Holiday pay and FMLA leave

One of the most common questions HR managers ask about holiday-season FMLA involves holiday pay. What happens when a company holiday falls during an employee’s FMLA leave?

The answer depends on your company’s holiday pay policy. If your policy provides holiday pay to employees who are on paid leave, you should provide holiday pay to employees on paid FMLA leave as well. If your policy provides holiday pay only to employees who work the day before and after the holiday, apply that policy consistently to FMLA leave takers.

The holiday itself does not count as FMLA leave. If a holiday falls during a week when an employee is on FMLA leave, that holiday does not reduce the employee’s FMLA entitlement. For a full week of leave, only the days the employee would otherwise have worked count against the FMLA entitlement.

Intermittent leave and holiday scheduling

Intermittent FMLA leave creates the most complex holiday season scenarios. An employee certified for intermittent leave due to a chronic condition may take FMLA-designated absences that happen to fall on days adjacent to holidays or company shutdowns.

You cannot deny intermittent FMLA leave simply because it falls near a holiday. However, you do have some tools available to manage the scheduling impact.

When the need for intermittent leave is foreseeable, you can require the employee to schedule treatments at times that minimize disruption to operations when possible. This is not an absolute right — the healthcare provider’s schedule and the employee’s medical needs take priority. However, you can communicate your operational needs and ask the employee to work with their provider to schedule appointments at less disruptive times.

Company shutdowns and FMLA leave

Many employers shut down operations for a week or more during the holiday season. How does this interact with FMLA leave?

If an employee is on FMLA leave when a company shutdown occurs, the shutdown days do not count as FMLA leave. The employee’s FMLA entitlement is not reduced by the days the company is closed. The employee simply continues on FMLA leave for the non-shutdown days and the shutdown days are treated like any other non-workday.

For an employee who is not yet on FMLA leave when the shutdown begins, the shutdown period does not count toward the 12-month FMLA entitlement. The employee cannot use the shutdown as a retroactive start date for FMLA leave.

Mandatory holiday schedules and FMLA

Some employers require all employees to work specific holiday shifts or schedules. Retail, healthcare, and manufacturing employers commonly have mandatory holiday coverage requirements.

FMLA does not exempt employees from mandatory holiday scheduling requirements in advance. However, when an employee has a qualifying FMLA need on a mandatory holiday, you must grant the FMLA leave. You cannot discipline the employee for missing a mandatory holiday shift if the absence qualifies for FMLA protection.

This does not mean employees can use FMLA strategically to avoid mandatory holiday shifts. When an employee’s use of intermittent FMLA leave consistently coincides with mandatory holiday shifts, you have grounds to investigate and potentially seek recertification. Document the pattern carefully.

Handling increased intermittent leave requests in December

A spike in intermittent FMLA leave requests in November and December is a pattern many HR teams recognize. Some of that increase reflects genuine medical needs. Chronic conditions can flare during the stress and cold weather of winter. Family caregiving needs often intensify during the holidays.

Some of the increase may reflect employees using intermittent leave to extend holiday time off. Distinguishing between the two requires careful analysis of each employee’s specific situation.

For employees who show a sudden unexplained increase in intermittent leave frequency during the holiday season, recertification is your strongest tool. Request recertification in connection with an absence and send the request in writing. Give the employee 15 calendar days to respond. If the recertification does not support the increased frequency, you have grounds to question subsequent absences.

Returning from FMLA leave after the holidays

Employees who take FMLA leave over the holiday season and return in January present their own set of considerations.

Confirm the return date clearly in writing before the leave begins. Send a written reminder of the expected return date approximately one week before the return is due. If a fitness for duty certification is required under your policy, notify the employee well in advance so they have time to obtain it.

When the employee returns, restore them to the same or an equivalent position. Do not use the holiday period as an opportunity to restructure the employee’s role or reassign their responsibilities in a way that constitutes a demotion.

Building a holiday FMLA process

The holiday season exposes gaps in FMLA processes that are manageable during slower periods. Building a specific protocol for holiday-season FMLA administration helps HR teams stay on top of leave requests when staffing is stretched.

Your holiday protocol should include a clear process for receiving and tracking FMLA requests during shutdown periods when HR may have reduced coverage. It should include a communication plan for keeping employees informed of their return dates. It should include a monitoring process for intermittent leave patterns.

FMLAPro Tracker Pro manages FMLA leave tracking year-round including during the holiday season. It tracks every absence, maintains running entitlement totals, and alerts you to upcoming return dates and recertification deadlines. It runs inside Microsoft Excel so your team can use it from anywhere. Visit our store to learn more or contact us with any questions.

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