'Tis the season already, as I am starting to receive telephone calls from employers with questions about how they calculate an employee's FMLA leave during a holiday week or when the employer is closed for a period of time (e.g., winter break for schools, plant shut down). As we prepare for the holidays, here are a few basic rules to have handy next to your payroll sheet:

Calculating FMLA Leave During A Holiday Week

Let's use Veterans Day as an example. This year, Veterans Day falls on a Friday. If the employee observes the Veterans Day holiday and then takes the entire work week off (i.e., he is absent from Monday through Thursday), the employer should count the entire workweek as one full week of FMLA leave used. (The same would apply if the employer holiday occurred on any other day of the workweek and the employee was otherwise absent for the four other work days.)...