Does a Holiday Count Against FMLA Leave?
A holiday counts within a full week of FMLA leave, but not during a partial week unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work that holiday.
Does a Holiday Count Against FMLA Leave?
It depends on how much FMLA leave the employee uses that week. A holiday within a full workweek taken as FMLA leave does not shorten the week charged. When FMLA leave is used for less than a full week, the holiday generally does not count unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work that holiday and used FMLA leave for the absence. Employer coverage, employee eligibility, a qualifying reason, available leave, notice, and any permitted certification requirements still matter.
The Rule Measures FMLA in Workweeks
Federal law generally gives an eligible employee of a covered employer up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in the applicable 12-month period for qualifying family, medical, and military-exigency reasons, with a separate military-caregiver entitlement. The employee's actual workweek supplies the starting point for leave accounting. A holiday label alone does not establish the employee's balance or whether a particular absence qualifies.
A Holiday Inside a Full Week of Leave Counts Within That Week
Under 29 CFR 825.200(h), a holiday occurring during a week taken entirely as FMLA leave has no effect on the amount used: the week counts as one workweek of FMLA leave. This does not add a separate extra day to the charge. It means the holiday does not turn the full week into a shorter FMLA week merely because the employee ordinarily would have been off for the holiday.
A Holiday Usually Does Not Count During a Partial Week
The result changes when the employee uses FMLA leave in increments of less than one week. If the employee takes protected leave on days around a holiday but was not scheduled to work the holiday, the holiday itself does not count against the federal entitlement. Keep the work schedule and leave ledger separate so a non-workday is not automatically treated as another day of FMLA use.
A Scheduled Holiday Shift Can Count
A holiday may count during a partial week when the employee was otherwise scheduled and expected to work that day and used FMLA leave for a qualifying absence. This often matters in workplaces that operate on federal holidays, weekends, or rotating schedules. Preserve the posted schedule, shift assignment, later schedule changes, attendance record, and leave designation because the actual expectation to work is central to the rule.
Extended Employer Shutdowns Follow a Separate Rule
If the employer's business activity temporarily stops and employees generally are not expected to report for one or more weeks, the days the activity has ceased do not count against FMLA leave. The regulation gives examples of a school closing for two weeks over the winter holidays and a plant closing for retooling or repairs. This shutdown rule is different from a single holiday occurring inside a full week of employee leave.
Holiday Pay Is a Different Question
Whether a day counts against the FMLA balance does not by itself decide whether the employee receives holiday pay. Under 29 CFR 825.209(h), entitlement to benefits other than group health benefits, including holiday pay, depends on the employer's established policy for providing those benefits during other forms of paid or unpaid leave, as appropriate. Compare the written policy and how comparable non-FMLA leave is treated.
Paid Leave and FMLA Can Run at the Same Time
FMLA leave is generally unpaid, but an employee may request or an employer may require available paid leave to run concurrently when the federal and workplace requirements are satisfied. A paid vacation, sick, or personal-leave entry does not erase FMLA protection when the same absence is properly designated. It also does not change the holiday-counting rule merely because wages or another benefit were paid.
Only Leave Actually Taken May Reduce the Balance
For partial-week, intermittent, or reduced-schedule leave, an employer generally may not reduce the FMLA entitlement by more than the amount of leave actually taken. The accounting increment may be no greater than the shortest increment used for other forms of leave and, in any event, no greater than one hour, subject to narrow special rules. Review the dates and hours charged rather than relying only on a rounded balance summary.
Written Designation and Balance Records Matter
Employer notices should identify when qualifying leave is designated as FMLA leave and, when known, how much will count against the entitlement. Federal recordkeeping rules require covered employers with eligible employees to preserve FMLA leave dates and the hours used when leave is taken in increments of less than a full day. A holiday dispute is easier to evaluate with the original notices, schedules, time records, and balance statements.
Protected Leave Should Not Become an Attendance Penalty
An employer may count leave according to the federal holiday and workweek rules, but it may not use protected FMLA leave as a negative factor in discipline, scheduling, promotion, or termination. It also may not discourage an employee from using available FMLA leave. A dispute about a holiday charge should distinguish an accounting error from a separate attendance or retaliation issue.
State Law and Workplace Rules May Be More Generous
State or local family-leave laws, paid-leave programs, collective bargaining agreements, and employer policies may provide additional time, pay, or a more favorable holiday rule. Federal FMLA sets the rule described here for the federal entitlement; it does not eliminate greater rights from another applicable source. The relevant location, policy period, leave type, and agreement should be reviewed before combining balances.
Build a Day-by-Day Leave Timeline
Keep the FMLA policy, holiday calendar, ordinary and revised schedules, leave request, eligibility and designation notices, certification records, paid-leave entries, timecards, leave-balance reports, attendance records, and any written explanation of the disputed charge. Mark whether each date was a scheduled workday, a holiday, an employer shutdown day, or an FMLA absence. Preserve originals and only material you are entitled to retain.
When to Get a Free Consult
Get a free consult if an employer charged an unscheduled holiday during a partial week, counted time during a qualifying extended shutdown, deducted more leave than the records support, denied holiday pay under a policy applied differently to comparable leave, or imposed attendance consequences after a protected absence. This article is general information, not legal advice; rights depend on coverage, eligibility, qualifying reason, actual schedule, amount of leave, notices, certification, benefits policy, available entitlement, location, and applicable law.
Primary Sources
- eCFR: 29 CFR 825.200 FMLA Leave Amount and Holiday RuleAccessed September 11, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 825.205 FMLA Leave IncrementsAccessed September 11, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 825.209 Employee Benefits and Holiday PayAccessed September 11, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 825.220 FMLA Employee ProtectionsAccessed September 11, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 825.300 Employer Notice RequirementsAccessed September 11, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 825.500 FMLA Recordkeeping RequirementsAccessed September 11, 2026
- U.S. Code: 29 USC 2612 FMLA Leave EntitlementAccessed September 11, 2026
- DOL Fact Sheet #28I: Counting FMLA Leave UseAccessed September 11, 2026
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