Employees who take sudden leaves of absence for long periods of time under the Family and Medical Leave Act can expect to lose their paid holidays that fall during that period, a federal court has ruled.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that paid holidays that fall during intermittent FMLA leave taken for a week or more at a time will be counted as FMLA leave. Mellen v. Boston University, No. 07-1151.