On January 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published an Opinion Letter (FMLA2026-2) addressing whether leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may be used intermittently or for a reduced-schedule for time spent traveling to or from medical appointments.
The short answer – yes, assuming other requirements under the FMLA are met. This means employers can deduct such travel time from an employee’s remaining leave allotment.
FMLA Leave Described Generally
Under the FMLA, eligible employees of covered employers may take up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. Those reasons include (but are not limited to):
- The birth of a child or to care for a newborn child;
- The placement with an employee of a child for adoption or foster care or to care for a newly placed child;
- To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition; and
- A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of the employee’s job.
A covered employer may require an employee to submit medical certification for their own serious health condition or their family member’s serious health condition to support the need for leave.
Intermittent and Reduced Leave Schedules
Employees may take FMLA leave “intermittently,” meaning that the time is not taken in consecutive days, but rather on a reduced weekly or daily work schedule when medically necessary. Intermittent leave can be taken in increments of hours, days or weeks for any of the qualifying reasons above. This includes leave for planned medical treatments and doctors’ appointments.
FMLA Opinion Letter
As clarified in the Opinion Letter, when an eligible employee travels to and from a doctor’s appointment regarding the employee’s serious health condition or a family member’s serious health condition, the employee may use their FMLA-protected leave for both the travel time and the appointment. Additionally, medical certification does not need to include any information regarding travel time to support the request for this additional FMLA use.
While difficult to monitor, the Opinion Letter reinforces that the FMLA does not protect misuses of protected leave, and travel time spent not traveling to and from the appointment (e.g., stopping for food or other unrelated activities) is not protected. A common challenge associated with intermittent leave is that the employee draws down from their permitted leave in small increments. The ability to include travel time as FMLA leave means employer can deduct more time from the employee’s bank.
Employers should keep open communication with employees using intermittent FMLA leave and use reliable timekeeping systems to track how much FMLA leave employees are using against their twelve-week allotment. FMLA designation paperwork should be updated accordingly with the FMLA leave taken.
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