The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for certain qualifying reasons.
Effective January 1, 2026, the University of Minnesota will change the time period over which the 12 weeks are tracked. This serves as your required 60-day advance notice under the FMLA.
What’s Changing
Currently, eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in the span of a University fiscal year (July 1–June 30).
Starting January 1, 2026, this will change to a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date you take FMLA leave.
Note: This change only impacts FMLA leave. This transition to a rolling 12-month period does not impact any other types of leave.
How the Rolling 12-Month Period Works
Available FMLA leave time will equal 12 workweeks minus any FMLA leave used in the previous 12 months.
To ensure a smooth transition, as of January 1, 2026, employees will receive a fresh 12 full workweeks of FMLA leave available, regardless of any leave taken in 2025.
Examples
Example 1: If you begin FMLA leave on March 29, 2026, and already used 2 weeks in January 2026, you would have 10 workweeks available.
Example 2: If you begin leave on June 30, 2026, and used 3 weeks in February 2026 and 1 week in November 2025, you would have 9 workweeks available. (The leave taken in November 2025 does not reduce your 2026 allotment, because everyone starts fresh on January 1, 2026 due to this transition.)
Example 3: If you begin leave on February 3, 2027, and previously used 2 weeks in October 2026 and 2 weeks in January 2026, you would have 10 workweeks available. (The January 2026 leave does not count because it was more than 12 months before your February 2027 leave.)
Questions
If you have questions about your FMLA options or how this change affects you, please contact the OHR Leave Administration team:
- Phone: 612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363 (choose option 2)
- Email: [email protected]