Employer’s Guide to Intermittent FMLA Leave

2/3/2026

Of all the complexities embedded within the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), perhaps none presents more daily challenges for employers than intermittent FMLA leave. This provision allows eligible employees to take FMLA leave in separate, smaller blocks of time for a single qualifying reason, rather than in one continuous period. It can mean an employee taking a few hours off for a doctor's appointment, a full day for a medical treatment, or being absent unpredictably due to a chronic condition's flare-up.

While this flexibility is a crucial protection for employees with ongoing health issues, it creates a significant headache for employers. Managing unpredictable absences, ensuring accurate tracking, and preventing potential abuse—all while maintaining FMLA compliance—can feel like a monumental task. This guide will provide a comprehensive roadmap for employers, detailing the challenges of intermittent leave and offering best practices for tracking, communication, and overall FMLA leave management.

What is Intermittent FMLA Leave?

The FMLA allows employees to take leave in two non-continuous ways:

1. Intermittent Leave: This involves taking leave in separate, distinct blocks of time for a single qualifying reason. For example, an employee might take off two hours every Tuesday for physical therapy or call out for a full day once a month when their chronic condition flares up.
2. Reduced Leave Schedule: This involves reducing an employee's usual number of working hours per day or per week. For instance, an employee recovering from surgery might work four hours a day instead of eight for several weeks.

For the purposes of FMLA administration, both are managed under the same principles. Intermittent leave is permitted for an employee's own serious health condition, to care for a covered family member with a serious health condition, or for certain military family leave reasons. It is generally not available for the birth or placement of a child unless the employer agrees.

The primary challenge for employers is the unpredictability. When an employee's need for intermittent leave is unforeseeable, it can disrupt workflows, strain team resources, and create significant scheduling difficulties.

The Critical Role of Medical Certification

The medical certification is your single most important tool for managing intermittent FMLA leave. A vague or incomplete certification opens the door to confusion and potential abuse. A detailed, sufficient certification provides the framework you need to manage the leave effectively.

What to Look for in the Certification

When an employee requests intermittent leave for a serious health condition, the certification from their healthcare provider (Form WH-380-E or WH-380-F) must be specific. You have the right to insist on this information:

• Medical Necessity: The form must state why intermittent leave or a reduced schedule is medically necessary.
• Expected Frequency and Duration: This is the most crucial part. The healthcare provider must provide a reasonable estimate of the frequency of episodes (e.g., "two to three times per month") and the duration of each episode (e.g., "one to two days per absence"). A vague statement like "as needed" is not sufficient.
• Dates of Planned Treatment: If the leave is for planned treatments, the form should include the dates and duration of those appointments.

The "Cure" Process: Your Right to Clarity

If you receive a certification that is vague or incomplete, you must not simply accept it. The FMLA provides a formal "cure" process.

1. Notify the employee in writing: Your notice must clearly state what information is missing or insufficient. For example: "The certification does not specify the expected frequency of your absences. Please have your provider clarify how many times per month they anticipate you will need to be absent."
2. Give them a deadline: You must give the employee at least seven calendar days to provide the missing information.

If the employee fails to provide a complete and sufficient certification after being given the opportunity to cure it, you may be able to deny the intermittent FMLA leave request. This process demonstrates your due diligence and is a key part of compliant FMLA leave management.

Strategies for Managing and Tracking Intermittent Leave

Once you have a solid certification, the focus shifts to managing and tracking the leave. This is where consistency and accuracy are paramount.

1. Require Compliance with Call-In Procedures

This is a frequently underutilized but powerful tool. The FMLA regulations explicitly state that employers can require employees to follow their customary call-in procedures for reporting an absence. Your FMLA policy and the Rights & Responsibilities Notice should clearly state this.

If your policy requires employees to call their supervisor at least one hour before their shift starts, you can enforce this for FMLA absences, unless there are unusual circumstances that prevent the employee from doing so. You can also require the employee to specify that the absence is for their FMLA-qualifying reason. This helps distinguish FMLA absences from regular sick days and reinforces that FMLA leave is not a "get out of jail free" card for attendance rules.

2. Track Leave in the Smallest Possible Increment

A common mistake is forcing an employee to take more leave than they need. The FMLA requires you to track intermittent leave using the smallest increment of time your payroll system uses to account for absences, as long as it is not more than one hour.

For example, if your system tracks time in 15-minute increments, and an employee is 30 minutes late due to an FMLA-related reason, you can only deduct 30 minutes from their FMLA balance. You cannot round up and charge them for an hour or a half-day of leave. Failure to follow this rule is a common FMLA violation.

3. Leverage FMLA Tracking Tools

Manually tracking intermittent FMLA leave on a spreadsheet is a recipe for disaster. The calculations are complex, the risk of human error is high, and it provides no real-time visibility. This is where specialized FMLA tracking tools become essential.

These software solutions are a cornerstone of modern FMLA compliance. They help by:

• Automating Calculations: The software can accurately convert hours and days into a fraction of a workweek and track the remaining FMLA balance down to the minute.
• Providing Real-Time Visibility: HR, managers, and the employee can see the current leave balance at any time, which helps in planning and prevents disputes.
• Centralizing Documentation: The system creates a secure, digital record of every absence, notice, and certification, creating a perfect audit trail.
• Flagging Patterns: Advanced FMLA tracking tools can help identify patterns of usage (e.g., frequent Friday absences) that may warrant a request for recertification.

Investing in these tools moves your FMLA leave management from a reactive, error-prone process to a proactive, compliant one.

4. Understand an Employee's Workweek

To accurately track intermittent leave, you must calculate the total FMLA leave entitlement in hours. This is done by multiplying the number of hours the employee normally works per week by 12.

• For a standard 40-hour/week employee, the entitlement is 480 hours (40 x 12).
• For a part-time employee working 20 hours/week, the entitlement is 240 hours (20 x 12).
• For employees with fluctuating schedules, you must use a weekly average of the hours worked over the 12 months prior to the start of the leave.

Overtime hours must be included. If an employee is required to work overtime, those overtime hours they miss due to an FMLA reason must be counted against their FMLA entitlement.

Addressing Challenges and Preventing Abuse

The unpredictable nature of intermittent leave makes it susceptible to potential abuse. Addressing this requires a firm but fair approach that is grounded in your FMLA policy and the law.

Use the Recertification Process Strategically

Recertification is your primary tool for verifying the ongoing need for leave and for addressing suspicious patterns. You can request a recertification when:

• Absences exceed the certified frequency or duration: If the certification states the employee will miss "1-2 days per month" and they are absent every week, you have a legitimate reason to request a recertification.
• You observe a suspicious pattern: If an employee's absences consistently fall on Mondays, Fridays, or before holidays, you can request recertification. As part of this process, you are permitted to provide the healthcare provider with a record of the employee's absence pattern and ask if that pattern is consistent with their condition.
• You receive information that casts doubt on the reason for leave: For example, if a coworker reports seeing the employee at a concert on a day they called in for their FMLA condition.

Using the recertification process sends a clear message that you are actively managing leave and not simply rubber-stamping all absences.

The Temporary Transfer Provision

For intermittent leave that is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment (e.g., physical therapy every Tuesday afternoon), the FMLA provides a useful option for employers. You may temporarily transfer the employee to an alternative position that better accommodates the recurring absences.

This alternative position must have equivalent pay and benefits, but it does not need to have equivalent duties. This allows you to move the employee to a role where their periodic absences are less disruptive. This provision cannot be used for unforeseeable intermittent leave.

Communication is Key

Clear, consistent, and documented communication is crucial for managing intermittent FMLA leave effectively.

Set Expectations with FMLA Notices

Your FMLA notice process is your first opportunity to establish the rules. The Rights & Responsibilities Notice must be crystal clear about:

• The need to follow call-in procedures.
• How you will track leave time.
• Any requirement to schedule planned treatments in a way that minimizes disruption.

Referencing these officialFMLA notice requirements and documenting their delivery provides a strong foundation.

Ongoing Communication with Employees

Maintain an open line of communication. When you approve an intermittent leave request, have a conversation with the employee to ensure they understand their obligations. Periodically, you can provide the employee with an update on their remaining FMLA leave balance. This transparency can help prevent misunderstandings and disputes about how much leave has been used.

The Role of FMLA Training Programs

The complexities of managing intermittent FMLA leave—from tracking calculations to recertification triggers—cannot be learned from a manual alone. This is where comprehensive training becomes invaluable.

Investing inFMLA training programs for your HR professionals and, crucially, your frontline managers is a non-negotiable best practice. A qualityFMLA Training & Certification Program will equip your team with the skills to:

• Scrutinize medical certifications for sufficiency.
• Consistently enforce call-in procedures.
• Understand the rules for tracking leave in small increments.
• Recognize when it is appropriate to request a recertification.
• Navigate the entire process without engaging in actions that could be seen as interference or retaliation.

Training transforms intermittent FMLA leave management from a source of chaos into a structured, defensible process.

Conclusion: Taming the Intermittent Leave Challenge

Managing intermittent FMLA leave will always be one of the more demanding aspects of FMLA administration. Its unpredictable nature inherently creates operational challenges. However, employers do not have to be passive victims of this unpredictability.

By taking a proactive and structured approach, you can build a framework that brings order to the chaos. A strategy built on demanding detailed medical certifications, enforcing call-in procedures, using modern FMLA tracking tools, and providing robust training will empower you to manage intermittent leave with confidence. This approach ensures FMLA compliance, protects your organization from risk, and creates a process that is both fair to employees and manageable for the business.