Payroll Recordkeeping For The Family and Medical Leave Act

4/16/2026

Covered employers who have eligible employees must retain records that must disclose the following:

• Basic payroll and identifying employee data, including name, address, and occupation; rate or basis of pay and terms of compensation; daily and weekly hours worked per pay period; additions to or deductions from wages; and total compensation paid.
• Dates FMLA leave is taken by FMLA eligible employees (e.g., available from time records, requests for leave, etc., if so designated). Leave must be designated in records as FMLA leave; leave so designated may not include leave required under State law or an employer plan which is not also covered under the FMLA.
• If FMLA leave is taken by eligible employees in increments of less than one full day, the hours of the leave.
• Copies of employee notices of leave furnished to the employer under FMLA, if in writing, and copies of all general and specific written notices given to employees as required under FMLA. Copies may be retained in employee personnel files.
• Any documents (including written and electronic records) describing employee benefits or employer policies and practices regarding the taking of paid and unpaid leaves.
• Premium payments of employee benefits.
• Records of any dispute between the employer and an eligible employee regarding designation of leave as FMLA, including any written statement from the employer or employee of the reasons for the designation and for the disagreement.
• Covered employers with no eligible employees must retain the records set forth above.
• If FMLA eligible employees are not subject to FLSA's recordkeeping regulations for purposes of minimum wage or overtime compliance (i.e., not covered by or exempt from FLSA), an employer need not retain a record of actual hours worked, provided that:
  • Eligibility for FMLA leave is presumed for any employee who has been employed for at least 12 months; and
  • With respect to employees who take FMLA leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule, the employer and employee agree on the employee's normal schedule or average hours worked each week and reduce their agreement to a written record maintained in accordance with the above regulations.

Records and documents relating to medical certifications, recertifications or medical histories of employees or employees' family members, created for purposes of FMLA, shall be retained as confidential medical records in separate files/records from the usual personnel files. Form of Record and Length of Retention for FMLA Form of records: No particular order or form of records is required. The regulations establish no requirement that any employer revise its computerized payroll or personnel records systems to comply. The records may be retained and preserved on microfilm or other basic source document of an automated data processing memory provided that adequate projection or viewing equipment is available, that the reproductions are clear and identifiable by date or pay period, and that extensions or transcriptions of the information required can be and are made available upon request. Records retained in computer form must be made available for transcription or copying. Retention Requirements: Employers must retain the records specified by the regulations for no less than three years and make them available for inspection, copying, and transcription by representatives of the DOL upon request.