The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued two opinion letters addressing employer questions under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regarding whether time spent traveling to and from medical appointments is covered by the law and how to count FMLA time when an employer temporarily closes the workplace due to bad weather.
Travel Time to and from Medical Appointments
In opinion letter FMLA2026-2, the DOL confirmed that FMLA-protected leave may be used for the time spent traveling to and from a medical appointment for a serious health condition.
The FMLA and its California counterpart, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), allow eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of protected leave for their own serious health condition, or to help care for a family member with a serious health condition. Employees may use this leave intermittently when medically necessary. Examples of intermittent leave may include brief periods for medical appointments or leave taken several days at a time for longer treatments such as chemotherapy.
While the law covers the medical appointments and treatments related to a serious health condition, questions remain about the time spent traveling to and from the appointments.
The employer requesting the DOL’s opinion had employees attending medical appointments at various locations, including those that were “some distance” from their homes and workplaces. An employee requested intermittent leave to attend medical appointments that would be once a month for 45 minutes, according to the medical certification. The employee indicated they needed one hour to travel to or from the doctor’s office, but the medical certification did not address travel time.
According to the DOL, traveling to a health care provider’s location is “part and parcel of obtaining care.” Applying FMLA regulations and federal case law, the DOL concluded that when an eligible employee travels to or from a health care provider for a medical appointment regarding the employee’s serious health condition, the employee may take FMLA leave not only for the actual appointment, but also for the time traveling to or from the appointment. Similarly, for employees taking FMLA leave to care for a family member, the law covers associated travel time.
The DOL clarified, however, that the law does not protect time spent traveling for other unrelated activities. For example, if an employee travels to a medical appointment and subsequently runs errands such as grocery shopping or some other unrelated activity, time spent on those other unrelated activities is not protected by FMLA.
Workplace Closed Due to Weather
In opinion letter FMLA2026-1, the DOL considered how an employee’s FMLA time should be counted when the employer, a school in this case, closes for part of a week due to bad weather.
The DOL applied FMLA regulations and concluded that when an employee is approved to take FMLA leave for less than a full workweek, and the employer closes for part of the week, the closure time should not be deducted from the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.
If, however, the employee is using FMLA leave for a full workweek, then a closure for part of a week doesn’t impact the employee’s FMLA usage and the employer may deduct a full week’s worth of leave from the employee’s leave entitlement.
For example, if an employee was scheduled to use FMLA leave for medical treatment on a Wednesday afternoon and the employer closed for the day due to weather, that time should not be counted against their FMLA entitlement. But if the employee was on FMLA leave for the entire week, then the employer may deduct the entire week even despite the Wednesday closure.
Employers should review their family and medical leave practices and consult with legal counsel to ensure they align with both the law and the DOL’s enforcement position.
James W. Ward, J.D., Employment Law Subject Matter Expert/Legal Writer and Editor, CalChamber
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