Human Resource Blog

Salaried employee pay for FMLA

is an employer required to pay a salaried employee for FMLA?

No, you are not required to pay a salaried employee for FMLA. Leave taken under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is unpaid — even for exempt salaried employees. This is one of the very few exceptions to the US Department of Labor regulation that an exempt employee must be paid the full weekly salary, regardless of the number of hours the employee works.

An exempt employee who takes the entire payroll week off for FMLA is entitled to no payment for the week.

When an exempt employee uses FMLA on an intermittent or part-time basis, the employees regular salary can be prorated. Suppose Sally normally works 40 hours per week, but this week she works only 30 hours and takes 10 hours of FMLA. Sally can be paid just 3/4 of her normal salary for the week.

However, be aware that under the new 2009 FMLA regulations, employees may be entitled to use paid sick leave or paid vacation while on FMLA. In that case, Sally has the option of working 30 hours and taking 10 hours of sick leave or vacation, so that she receives her full salary for the week. As an employer, you can also require that employees use any available paid leave concurrently with FMLA.