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Holiday pay and FMLA often collide in ways that seem simple at first, but quickly become compliance traps. This scenario is a perfect example of how employer policy, FMLA regulations, and consistency rules intersect.
Jordan works for BrightPath Solutions, a company that operates Monday through Friday and offers paid holidays. BrightPath’s holiday policy states that employees must work the scheduled day before and the scheduled day after a holiday to be eligible for holiday pay.
However, BrightPath does pay holidays when employees are on approved vacation/PTO surrounding the holiday.
During Thanksgiving week, Jordan takes the following leave:
The question becomes: Is BrightPath required to pay Jordan for the Thanksgiving holiday?
A. No. Jordan did not work the day before or after the holiday, so the holiday does not have to be paid.
B. No. FMLA does not require paid holidays, and the FLSA does not require holiday pay.
C. Yes. BrightPath must pay the holiday because it pays holidays when employees use vacation surrounding the holiday, and FMLA cannot be treated less favorably.
D. It depends on whether Jordan used vacation or FMLA earlier in the year.
It is true that the FLSA does not require paid holidays, and FMLA does not mandate paid leave. However, once an employer chooses to provide holiday pay, the law requires that the policy be applied consistently.
In this scenario, BrightPath pays the holiday when an employee is on vacation/PTO before and after the holiday. Vacation is considered a comparable form of leave. Because the company pays the holiday in that situation, it must also pay the holiday when the employee is on FMLA during the same period.
Denying holiday pay solely because the leave used is FMLA would result in less favorable treatment of FMLA leave, which constitutes FMLA interference. The company’s “work the day before and after” rule cannot be applied more strictly to FMLA than to vacation.
C. Yes. BrightPath Solutions must pay Jordan for the Thanksgiving holiday.
This scenario highlights how quickly a well-intentioned holiday policy can create legal risk if it is not aligned with FMLA regulations. FMLA does not create paid holidays, but employer policies do. Once a benefit is extended to employees on vacation, that same benefit must be extended to employees on FMLA under comparable circumstances.
This is exactly the type of real-world issue we break down in our 2-Day FMLA/ADA Certificate Program, where HR professionals learn how to apply the law correctly, spot compliance traps, and confidently make defensible decisions.
Elga Lejarza
Founder & CEO
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