How to Handle Intermittent Leave Under FMLA

1/30/2026

Of all the challenges HR professionals face in administering the Family and Medical Leave Act, none is more consistently complex than managing intermittent leave. This type of leave, taken in separate, often unpredictable blocks of time, can disrupt workflows, frustrate managers, and create significant administrative burdens. Unlike a continuous block of leave, intermittent FMLA leave requires meticulous tracking and constant vigilance to ensure FMLA compliance.

For many organizations, the operational difficulties of managing an employee's sporadic absences can lead to mistakes, such as improper tracking, disciplinary action for protected absences, or inappropriate demands for information. These errors can quickly spiral into claims of FMLA interference or retaliation. However, with a solid understanding of the rules and a set of established best practices, you can manage intermittent leave effectively, ensuring both legal compliance and operational stability.

This guide will provide HR professionals with the strategies needed to navigate the complexities of intermittent FMLA leave. We will cover the governing regulations, best practices for management and tracking, and compliant methods for addressing potential abuse, turning a major challenge into a manageable process.

Understanding the Rules of Intermittent FMLA Leave

Intermittent FMLA leave is not a separate type of leave but a method of taking the standard 12-week (or 26-week for military caregiver) entitlement. It allows an employee to take leave in separate blocks of time for a single qualifying reason. This can range from a few hours for a medical appointment to several days for a flare-up of a chronic condition.

When is Intermittent Leave Permitted?

An employee can take intermittent leave for several qualifying reasons, but it's not an automatic right for all situations.

• For a Serious Health Condition: Leave for an employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a sick family member is the most common reason. This is permitted whenever it is medically necessary. This includes planned treatments like physical therapy, doctor's appointments, or unpredictable flare-ups of a chronic condition like migraines or asthma.
• For Military Family Leave: Intermittent leave is also permitted forqualifying exigent circumstances arising out of a family member's military service. It can also be used to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.
• For Bonding with a New Child: Leave to bond with a newborn or newly placed child can only be taken intermittently if the employer agrees. This is one of the few instances where an employer can deny an intermittent leave schedule for an otherwise qualifying reason.

Understanding these distinctions is the first step. You cannot deny a request for medically necessary intermittent leave, but you can have a policy that requires bonding leave to be taken in a continuous block.

The Medical Certification: Your Most Important Document

The medical certification is the cornerstone of managing intermittent leave. When an employee requests this type of leave for a serious health condition, the certification you request (Form WH-380-E or WH-380-F) should provide critical information about the need for intermittent or reduced schedule leave.

Key Information to Look For:

• Medical Necessity: The healthcare provider must confirm that intermittent leave is medically necessary.
• Expected Frequency and Duration: This is the most crucial part. The provider should give an estimate of how often the employee will need to be absent and how long each absence will last. For example: "two to three times per month, for one to two days per episode," or "two appointments per month, each lasting approximately four hours."

This information sets the baseline for the leave. It allows you to anticipate and manage absences and provides a benchmark against which to measure the employee’s actual leave usage. If the employee’s absences begin to significantly exceed the frequency or duration stated on the certification, it may give you a reason to request recertification.

Best Practices for Managing and Tracking Intermittent Leave

A proactive and systematic approach is essential for managing intermittent leave effectively. Relying on ad-hoc methods will lead to errors and compliance risks.

1. Master the Art of Tracking Leave

Accurate tracking is non-negotiable. The FMLA requires employers to track intermittent leave using the smallest increment of time their payroll system uses to account for other forms of leave, provided it is one hour or less.

The Calculation Method:
If an employee works a standard 40-hour week, their 12-week FMLA entitlement equals 480 hours (12 weeks x 40 hours/week).

• If an employee takes a two-hour FMLA absence, you deduct two hours from their 480-hour bank.
• If your payroll system tracks leave in 15-minute (.25 hour) increments, and an employee is 30 minutes late due to an FMLA-covered reason, you must deduct only 30 minutes (0.5 hours) from their FMLA bank. You cannot round up to the nearest hour.

This precise tracking is critical. Using a centralized system like a dedicated spreadsheet, an HRIS module, or specialized leave management software is the only reliable way to maintain accuracy. This system should be managed by HR, not by individual supervisors.

2. Establish Clear Call-In Procedures

While you cannot deny FMLA-protected absences, you can require employees to follow your standard call-in procedures.

What You Can Require:

• Following Normal Rules: Your policy can state that employees needing to use unscheduled intermittent leave must report their absence through the same channels and by the same deadlines as those reporting any other absence (e.g., "call your supervisor at least one hour before your shift starts").
• Specifying the Reason: You can require the employee to specifically state that the absence is for their FMLA-certified reason. An employee who simply calls and says "I won't be in today" may not be providing enough information to have the absence protected.

The key is consistency. If you do not enforce your call-in policy for other types of absences, you cannot single out employees on FMLA leave for discipline. If an employee fails to follow the procedure, you may be able to deny FMLA protection for that specific absence, provided you have a clear, consistently enforced policy.

3. Train Your Front-Line Managers

Managers are your first line of defense—and your biggest potential liability. They need to understand their role in the FMLA process. Untrained managers can make costly mistakes like questioning an employee's need for leave, disciplining them for FMLA-related absences, or failing to report requests to HR.

Essential Manager Training Topics:

• Recognize and Report: Train them to notify HR immediately whenever an employee mentions a potential need for FMLA leave.
• No Medical Questions: Instruct managers to never ask for a diagnosis or specific medical details. That is HR's role.
• Properly Code Absences: Teach them how to correctly record an absence as FMLA-related so it is not counted against the employee under attendance policies.
• Escalate Concerns: If a manager suspects an employee is abusing their leave, they must report their specific, objective concerns to HR rather than taking matters into their own hands.

Regular training sessions and simple job aids can empower managers to be effective partners in FMLA compliance.

4. Consider a Temporary Transfer

In some limited circumstances, the FMLA allows an employer to temporarily transfer an employee to an alternative position to better accommodate recurring, foreseeable intermittent leave.

The Rules for a Temporary Transfer:

• Foreseeable Leave: The transfer is only an option when the leave is for planned appointments or treatments, like weekly physical therapy. It cannot be used for unpredictable absences.
• Equivalent Pay and Benefits: The alternative position must have the same pay and benefits as the employee's original job. The duties do not have to be equivalent.
• Not a Punishment: The transfer cannot be used to punish or discourage an employee from taking leave.
• Temporary: The employee must be returned to their original or an equivalent position once the need for intermittent leave ends.

This option should be used cautiously and in strict compliance with the rules. It can be a useful tool for minimizing disruption in certain roles, but it is not a solution for all intermittent leave situations.

Addressing Potential Abuse of Intermittent FMLA Leave

One of the biggest frustrations for employers is the suspicion that an employee is misusing their intermittent leave. While you must tread carefully to avoid retaliation claims, the FMLA does provide tools to manage and verify the ongoing need for leave.

1. Insist on a Complete and Clear Certification

Your first opportunity to prevent abuse is at the beginning of the process. Do not accept a vague or incomplete medical certification. The law allows you to seek clarification and authentication.

• Be Specific: If a certification is unclear (e.g., "absences as needed"), you can go back to the provider (through HR, not the supervisor) and ask for a more specific estimate of frequency and duration.
• Use the DOL Forms: The official DOL certification forms are designed to ask for exactly the information you need. Avoid using your own pared-down versions.

A strong certification gives you a clear, objective standard against which to measure the employee's leave usage.

2. Watch for Patterns and Questionable Circumstances

If an employee's absences start forming suspicious patterns that are inconsistent with their medical certification, you may have grounds to investigate further.

Examples of Suspicious Patterns:

• An employee certified for migraines is consistently absent on Mondays or Fridays.
• An employee calls out for an FMLA reason on a day they were previously denied for vacation.
• A coworker reports seeing the employee engaging in activities inconsistent with their stated reason for leave (e.g., at a concert when they are supposedly incapacitated by back pain).

It is crucial to base any action on objective facts, not on a manager's general frustration.

3. Use Recertification to Verify an Ongoing Need

Recertification is your most powerful tool for managing ongoing intermittent leave. While there are limits on how often you can request it, it is essential for verifying that the need for leave continues.

When You Can Request Recertification:

• Generally every 30 days: For conditions with a duration of 30 days or less.
• Every six months: For long-term or chronic conditions, you can typically request recertification every six months in conjunction with an absence.
• When Circumstances Change Significantly: If the employee's absences substantially exceed the frequency or duration estimated on the current certification, you can request a recertification sooner than six months. For example, if the certification says "one day per month" and the employee is absent for four days in a month.
• If You Receive Information That Casts Doubt: If you obtain credible, objective information that suggests the employee is misusing their leave, you can request recertification.

When requesting recertification, you can provide the healthcare provider with a record of the employee's absences and ask if the leave pattern is consistent with the employee's medical condition. This is a compliant way to address concerns about abuse.

A Compliant Path Forward

Handling intermittent FMLA leave is undeniably one of the toughest parts of an HR professional's job. It requires a delicate balance between accommodating an employee's legitimate medical needs and managing the operational needs of the business. Success hinges on a deep understanding of theFamily Medical Leave Act, meticulous documentation, consistent procedures, and clear communication.

By investing in anFMLA training program, HR professionals can gain the confidence and expertise needed to build a compliant and effective intermittent leave management process. With the right systems in place, you can minimize disruption, reduce legal risk, and handle even the most complex leave scenarios with skill and precision.