Introduction

With school districts around Texas shutting down for almost an entire week over freezing temperatures and snowfall, many Texas school employees stayed home. But what about those who were already staying at home for medical reasons? Did those unplanned snow days count towards their unpaid FMLA leave? Although recent weather patterns have brought this question up, a variety of other situations, such as natural disasters, facilities issues, and public health concerns, could result in FMLA issues as well. Thankfully, the U. S. Department of Labor (“DoL”) gave the nation guidance on this precise question in a letter issued on January 5, 2026. This newsletter will walk school employees through what this letter means for when unpaid FMLA leave and school closures intersect.

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DoL Letter

The DoL letter clarified that whether FMLA leave is used depends on how long the requested leave period was. If closure days overlap with a request for an entire workweek off, the employee’s entire week of requested FMLA leave gets used up. If, however, closure days overlap with a request for less than a week off, then the FMLA leave is not used.

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Hypothetical

To help illustrate what the DoL’s explanation means, here’s a hypothetical showing how the rule works.

1. We have two school employees:
   a. History teacher Mr. Fullweek.
   b. IT admin Ms. Partweek.
2. Both take FMLA leave on the same week.
   a. Mr. Fullweek asked for a full week off to recover from last week’s surgery.
   b. Ms. Partweek asked for Tuesdays off for the entire school year for physical therapy sessions.
3. Due to heavy snowfall on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the district shuts down for those three days.

According to the DoL letter, here’s how both employees’ FMLA leave would be analyzed:

1. If Mr. Fullweek was scheduled to work a full week and then took FMLA leave for that entire week, he would be using an entire week of his FMLA allowance even if the school shut down due to inclement weather for a part of that week.
   a. In simpler terms, he would have used five days of leave, even if the school was only open for two days that week due to snow.
2. If Ms. Partweek chooses instead to only take off a specific day of the week for FMLA leave, and the school closes that same day due to inclement weather, the FMLA day is not used.
   a. In simpler terms, she would not have used any of her FMLA leave despite taking Tuesday off.

That’s strange—Mr. Fullweek and Ms. Partweek both had FMLA leave on snow days, but one gets to keep her FMLA leave and the other does not. What’s the difference between these situations?

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Explanation

The answer is the relative length of the leave. The FMLA treats its twelve-week allowance in week-long units. If an employee takes off an entire workweek for FMLA purposes, then he used the entirety of that unit, regardless of whether he was scheduled to work that week or not.

But when someone wants to take off less than a week, the FMLA treats him differently than someone taking off a full week. In that situation, the FMLA requires that the person requesting the leave actually gets to use that leave. So, even though Ms. Partweek had scheduled her FMLA leave for that one day, the closure day meant that she would not have had to work anyways. Since she did not get to use her leave, the closure day does not count against her FMLA allowance.

The difference between taking full workweek off or taking particular workdays off is an important one for both supervisors and employees to keep in mind. During times of inclement weather or throughout the year, supervisors should keep a close eye on how school employees are requesting their leave off: are they requesting specific days, or are they requesting entire weeks? Knowing the answer to that question could mean the difference between using no leave or an entire week of leave.

Instructional Time Mandates

The Department of Labor’s letter ends with one last important education-law reminder: how that leave time intersects with instructional time mandates. As you know, every district must provide at least 75,600 minutes of instruction per year, and the average teacher’s contract requires at least 187 days on the job. FMLA leave and school closures do not count towards a district’s instructional time requirements under state law.

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Concluding Advice

In summary:

• FMLA leave is calculated either on a full workweek basis or a partial basis.
• If a school district closes down for part of a week:
  
  • School employees taking the full workweek off will use their FMLA leave for that week, regardless of whether the district is closed.
  • School employees taking only part of a week off will not use their FMLA leave on a day that the district is closed.
• In order to accurately determine how much FMLA leave a school employee used during school closures, school supervisors should see whether an employee is taking FMLA on a full or partial workweek basis.

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Should questions arise regarding compliance with the FMLA or any other questions, please feel free to contact Leon, Alcala, Morse & Reynolds, PLLC for additional guidance.