{"id":2240,"date":"2025-01-27T13:37:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T13:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forework.com\/?p=2240"},"modified":"2025-01-27T13:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T13:37:10","slug":"dol-issues-opinion-letter-on-fmla-substitution-rule-for-employees-receiving-pfml-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forework.com\/dol-issues-opinion-letter-on-fmla-substitution-rule-for-employees-receiving-pfml-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"DOL Issues Opinion Letter on FMLA Substitution Rule for Employees Receiving PFML Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On January 14, 2025, the Department of Labor issued an Opinion Letter<\/a> regarding the applicability of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) substitution rule when an employee on FMLA leave is receiving state or local paid family and medical leave benefits (PFML).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FMLA Substitution Rule<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. Under the FMLA substitution rule, an employer may require, or an employee may unilaterally choose, to use accrued paid leave during unpaid FMLA leave. When paid leave is \u201csubstituted\u201d for unpaid FMLA leave, the accrued paid leave runs concurrently with the FMLA leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the employee is receiving any pay through short-term disability or workers\u2019 compensation benefits, the substitution rule does not apply because the leave is not unpaid, unless the employer and employee agree otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PFML Benefits<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the FMLA regulations only specifically mention short-term disability and workers\u2019 compensation as sources of pay that preclude the applicability of the FMLA substitution rule, many states have passed PFML programs, e.g., New York\u2019s Paid Family Leave program. These programs offer partially paid leave, often for reasons that overlap with FMLA and may exceed FMLA benefits in terms of leave duration or reasons covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOL\u2019s Opinion Letter is meant to address the question of whether an employee\u2019s receipt of PFML benefits should be treated the same as receipt of short-term disability or workers\u2019 compensation benefits during FMLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact of Opinion Letter<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Opinion Letter confirms that when an employee on FMLA is receiving PFML benefits, the FMLA substitution rule does not apply because the employee is not on unpaid FMLA leave. Therefore, both the employer and employee must agree to the employee\u2019s use of accrued paid leave to supplement the PFML benefits to receive 100% of pay.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next Steps for Employers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Review Leave Policies. <\/strong>Employers should review their leave policies to ensure compliance with the DOL\u2019s interpretation that PTO cannot be substituted during FMLA leave if the employee is receiving state\/local paid leave benefits, disability, or workers’ compensation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Policy Revisions. <\/strong>Any policy that mandates PTO substitution during concurrent FMLA and paid leave should be revised. PTO may only be used to supplement other benefits (e.g., state\/local paid leave or disability benefits) if both the employer and employee agree to it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. State\/Local Paid Leave Considerations. <\/strong>There may be situations where employees are eligible for benefits\u00a0under state\/local paid leave laws that are\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0also covered by the FMLA. As such,employers should be aware that each jurisdiction may have specific rules governing the use of PTO during paid family or medical leave periods that are not concurrent with FMLA.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you have any questions or concerns regarding the DOL opinion or FMLA substitution rule, please feel free to contact any member of the Forework team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On January 14, 2025, the Department of Labor issued an Opinion Letter regarding the applicability of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) substitution rule when an employee on FMLA leave is receiving state or local paid family and medical leave benefits (PFML). FMLA Substitution Rule FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","content-type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment-articles"],"yoast_head":"\nDOL Issues Opinion Letter on FMLA Substitution Rule for Employees Receiving PFML Benefits - Forework<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/forework.com\/dol-issues-opinion-letter-on-fmla-substitution-rule-for-employees-receiving-pfml-benefits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOL Issues Opinion Letter on FMLA Substitution Rule for Employees Receiving PFML Benefits - Forework\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On January 14, 2025, the Department of Labor issued an Opinion Letter regarding the applicability of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) substitution rule when an employee on FMLA leave is receiving state or local paid family and medical leave benefits (PFML). 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