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Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS)

Light Duty or Overtime

Reference Number: MTAS-1503
Reviewed Date: 10/21/2022

Light Duty
Time spent in light duty positions cannot be used against an employee’s FML entitlement.

The law now states that employees who accept light duty work need not exhaust their FML by agreeing to perform light duty. Whether light duty is presented as an option or as a mandatory provision, it may not be counted toward an employee’s FMLA benefit. 29 C.F.R. § 825.207(e).

Overtime
Many employees are regularly required to work overtime in their positions. However, when they go out on FML they are unable to do so.

The hours that the employee would have been required/mandated to work as overtime may be counted against the employee’s FMLA entitlement (i.e., counted as intermittent or reduced schedule leave, as applicable). However, if that overtime is voluntary, those hours may not be counted against an employee’s leave entitlement.