29 C.F.R. § 825.500

Recordkeeping requirements

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(a) FMLA provides that covered employers shall make, keep, and preserve records pertaining to their obligations under the Act in accordance with the recordkeeping requirements of section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and in accordance with these regulations. FMLA also restricts the authority of the Department of Labor to require any employer or plan, fund, or program to submit books or records more than once during any 12-month period unless the Department has reasonable cause to believe a violation of FMLA exists or the Department is investigating a complaint. These regulations establish no requirement for the submission of any records unless specifically requested by a Departmental official.

(b) No particular order or form of records is required. These regulations establish no requirement that any employer revise its computerized payroll or personnel records systems to comply. However, employers must keep the records specified by these regulations for no less than three years and make them available for inspection, copying, and transcription by representatives of the Department of Labor upon request. The records may be maintained 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 herein can be and are made available upon request. Records kept in computer form must be made available for transcription or copying.

(1) 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.

(2) 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 by FMLA.

(3) If FMLA leave is taken by eligible employees in increments of less than one full day, the hours of the leave.

(4) Copies of employee notices of leave furnished to the employer under FMLA, if in writing, and copies of all written notices given to employees as required under FMLA and these regulations See § 825.300(b)-(c). Copies may be maintained in employee personnel files.

(5) Any documents (including written and electronic records) describing employee benefits or employer policies and practices regarding the taking of paid and unpaid leaves.

(6) Premium payments of employee benefits.

(7) Records of any dispute between the employer and an eligible employee regarding designation of leave as FMLA leave, including any written statement from the employer or employee of the reasons for the designation and for the disagreement.

(d) Covered employers with no eligible employees must maintain the records set forth in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(e) Covered employers in a joint employment situation (see § 825.106) must keep all the records required by paragraph (c) of this section with respect to any primary employees, and must keep the records required by paragraph (c)(1) with respect to any secondary employees.

(f) 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 keep a record of actual hours worked (as otherwise required under FLSA, 29 CFR 516.2(a)(7)), provided that:

(1) Eligibility for FMLA leave is presumed for any employee who has been employed for at least 12 months; and

(2) 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 paragraph (b) of this section.

(g) Records and documents relating to certifications, recertifications or medical histories of employees or employees' family members, created for purposes of FMLA, shall be maintained as confidential medical records in separate files/records from the usual personnel files. If the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) is applicable, records and documents created for purposes of FMLA containing family medical history or genetic information as defined in GINA shall be maintained in accordance with the confidentiality requirements of Title II of GINA (see 29 CFR 1635.9), which permit such information to be disclosed consistent with the requirements of FMLA. If the ADA, as amended, is also applicable, such records shall be maintained in conformance with ADA confidentiality requirements (see 29 CFR 1630.14(c)(1)), except that:

(1) Supervisors and managers may be informed regarding necessary restrictions on the work or duties of an employee and necessary accommodations;

(2) First aid and safety personnel may be informed (when appropriate) if the employee's physical or medical condition might require emergency treatment; and

(3) Government officials investigating compliance with FMLA (or other pertinent law) shall be provided relevant information upon request.

(h) Special rules regarding recordkeeping apply to employers of airline flight crew employees. See § 825.803.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 19 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case: Big Ridge, Inc. v. Fed. Mine Saf. & Health Review Comm'n, 715 F.3d 631 (7th Cir. 2013).

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Big Ridge, Inc. v. Fed. Mine Saf. & Health Review Comm'n, 715 F.3d 631 (7th Cir. 2013). · cites it 2× “” 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (g) (tracking language from and referencing ADA regulation 29 C.”

Dodge v. Trs. of the Nat'l Gallery of Art, 326 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2004). · cites it 2× “500 (g) explicitly states: (g) Records and documents relating to medical certifications, recertifications or medical histories of employees or employees’ family members, created for purposes of FMLA, shall be maintained as confidential medical records in separate files/records…”

Slaughter v. Am. Bldg. Maint. Co., 64 F. Supp. 2d 319 (S.D.N.Y. 1999). · cites it 2× “See 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 . 9 Because the record currently before the court only provides a glimpse at ABM’s record-keeping through the lens of Slaughter’s own absentee calendar, however, definitive conclusions about such matters cannot be reached.”

Rucker v. Lee Holding Co., 471 F.3d 6 (1st Cir. 2006). “As the DOL notes, its regulations under the FMLA only require that employers keep employment records for three years, see 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (b), with some states requiring as many as six years, see N.”

Walker v. Gambrell, 647 F. Supp. 2d 529 (D. Maryland 2009). · cites it 2× “” 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (g). It is not settled whether this provision gives rise to a private right of action for disclosure, see Cash v.”

Howard v. INOVA Health Care Servs., 302 F. App'x 166 (4th Cir. 2008). “Regardless of whether Inova failed to retain Howard’s 2003 FMLA form for three years as required by 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (b), that regulation does not require an employer to consider FMLA documentation as effective for three years.”

Robert Slentz v. City of Repub., Missouri Greg D. Chadwell, Individually & in His Off. Capacity as Interim City Adm'r, 448 F.3d 1008 (8th Cir. 2006). “Record Keeping Slentz next posits that summary judgment was improper because the City has not given Slentz records required by 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 . Slentz contends that the failure to give him these records creates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether his leave was…”

Hite v. Vermeer Mfg. Co., 361 F. Supp. 2d 935 (S.D. Iowa 2005). “307 ; shared Plaintiffs medical records with non-Vermeer employees, in violation of 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (g); and accused her of “abusing” her FMLA leave.”

Rich v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 921 F. Supp. 767 (N.D. Ga. 1996). “110 (c); 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (f)(1). To overcome this presumption, the defendant must clearly demonstrate that the employee did not work 1,250 hours during the previous twelve months.”

Hott v. VDO Yazaki Corp., 922 F. Supp. 1114 (W.D. Va. 1996). “307 (violating the provision by requesting information from the Department of Labor); 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (c)(7) (failing to keep records of any dispute between the employee and the employer concerning the designation of FMLA leave).”

George v. Russell Stover Candies, Inc., 106 F. App'x 946 (6th Cir. 2004). “Plaintiff relies upon 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (g), which requires employers to maintain employees’ FMLA-related medical documents as confidential and in files separate from their personnel files, as the source of a FMLA right to confidentiality in the notice process.”

Dupee v. Klaff's, Inc., 462 F. Supp. 2d 244 (D. Conn. 2006). “” 29 C.F.R. § 825.500 (c)(4), (g). Further, plaintiff was a member of the class the FMLA was designed to protect, as he had “a serious health condition that ma[de][him] unable to perform the functions of [his] position.”

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