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10/15/2025
6 Things HR Should Know About Intermittent FMLA Leave
Source: HR Dive, September 29, 2025
Employers often complain that the Family and Medical Leave Act is difficult to administer, and that’s particularly the case when FMLA leave is intermittent, or occurs at irregular intervals.
Frustrations aside, however, it’s important for employers to keep a good-faith mindset that employees who request such leave do so because they need it, according to Jeff Nowak, shareholder at Littler Mendelson and author of the FMLA Insights blog.
“When we’re dealing with family medical leave, our approach should be employee-centered,” Nowak said in an interview. “When an employer approaches the need for leave with a level of sincerity rather than cynicism, the employer is more likely to be met with sincerity in return.”
Beyond that, there’s much employers should keep in mind around FMLA leave, and Nowak offered a short list of considerations.
1. Intermittent leave requests have grown, partly due to mental health issues
Courts are seeing an uptick in mental health-associated FMLA cases, Nowak said, and mental health conditions are increasingly cited as a cause of worker absences.
Last year, mental health and leave absence firm ComPsych published data showing that 11% of all leaves logged in its platform during 2024’s first quarter were taken due to mental health reasons. That represented a 22% increase in mental health leaves compared to 2023’s first quarter.
Moreover, courts have found in a number of cases that a change in employee behavior and moments of mental health crises can be sufficient notice of the need for FMLA leave, per Nowak. But it can be difficult for employers to both recognize mental health issues and link them to the FMLA specifically.
“It’s really difficult to understand and appreciate mental health issues because they often don’t manifest in ways that are obvious to the employer,” he said. “Naturally, there is a concern whether the employee is using FMLA appropriately in times when it’s not visible or obvious to the employer when that employee needs a leave of absence.”
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