On January 5, 2026, the DOL issued two opinion letters concerning potential uses of FMLA leave. Opinion letters are official written opinions on how a law the agency enforces applies to a specific workplace situation. We discussed the agency’s opinion letter program in our June 17, 2025, Compliance Corner article. While the first letter applies specifically to school employees, the second letter has broader applicability.
Partial School Closures
The first letter, FMLA2026-1, clarifies how school closures of less than a full week affect FMLA leave usage for school employees. If an employee takes less than a full week of FMLA leave and the school is closed for part of that week, the closure period does not count as FMLA leave unless the employee was scheduled to work during the closure and used FMLA leave for that time. However, if an employee is on FMLA leave for the entire workweek, the full week, including days when the school is closed, counts as FMLA leave. The calculation follows federal regulations, which specify that only the actual time taken for leave should be deducted from an employee’s FMLA entitlement for partial-week absences. Closures, whether planned or unplanned, and the reasons for closure do not impact this analysis. Additionally, whether schools schedule “make-up” days does not affect how leave is counted, but employees may use FMLA leave on make-up days if eligible and entitled.
Medical Travel
The second letter, FMLA2026-2, states that eligible employees may use FMLA leave for time spent traveling to and from medical appointments for their own or a qualifying family member’s serious health condition. The medical certification required for FMLA leave does not need to include travel time details for the certification to be considered complete or sufficient. The letter stresses that travel time that is not connected to a serious health condition is not protected under the FMLA. The law also does not protect time spent on unrelated activities during travel for medical appointments.
Employer Takeaway
Employers subject to FMLA should be aware of these developments. Although technically limited in scope to the issues posed and requesting party, these opinions provide insights regarding the DOL’s position on these particular issues.
Read the DOL’s letters FMLA2026-1 and FMLA2026-2 for more information.