How is one exact year calculated from a certain date for legal purposes?

Question

If you have to do something within one year of a certain date, does the one year period end on exactly the same date next year?  For example, let's say you were given a warning or put on probation for one year.  Or you have to do something within a year. Or you have to make restitution of funds within a year.  You can't be caught with a DUI within a year.  Etc.

For example, my employer allows you to take a year off without pay and return to work within exactly a year to whatever open position they have.  If you leave on 7/20/2019 what would be an exact year from then? 7/19/2020 or 7/20/2020.  Let's say you also get out of work at 4pm does that mean you have until 4pm a year from now to return.

I left my job on May 4, 2019 and returned to the same position on May 3, 2020.  I rushed to fly back to the US just to go to Human Resources on that day to sign reinstatement forms.  When I mentioned how expensive the flight was and that if I could have come back the next day it would have been cheaper, I was told I actually had one more day.  But I didn't want to take any chances.

In Science a year is actually 365 and 6 hours.  A calendar year is exactly 365 days.  A leap year is 366 days.  Do you take any of this into consideration when calculating a year for legal purposes?  Can an employer, during leap year, insist that a year is 365 days and not 366?  Can they say you signed your leave paperwork at 4:15pm but now it's a year later and it's 4:16pm so you can't come back?

Yeti · Accepted Answer

If it's for something in court, the court usually will specify the deadline date precisely, and not just say "within a year." And if something like restitution funds are paid an hour "late," it's usually irrelevant.

For the thing with your employer, it would matter how your employer calculates it. So most people would confirm with the employer how they're going to calculate the deadline.

And even here, you say you "left your job on May 4, 2019." Was that your last day, did you walk out in the middle of the day? Was that your first day not on the job? There's not enough information for us to speculate why your job calculated it the way they themselves did. Maybe you can ask them. For example, if May 4 was the "day you left" after working a bit, they probably didn't start counting the time until May 5. So you had until May 4 to return.

For what it's worth, when the court does its own calculations they'd usually go until 11:59pm the day before the same date the next year. But sometimes they might need to use the end of the business day the day before, etc. Or sometimes the parties might agree it's end of business day the same date the next year, and so on.

Morningfox · Answer

It's the end of the day before the anniversary date. Except that one year from February 29 is end of the day on Feb 28, and one year from March 1 is the end of the last day of February. Different company have different definitions (like yours), and probably different governments also.

"Science" has many different types of things with "year" in the name. For legal purposes, only the calendar year is important.

Anonymous · Answer

It's Midnight on the last day following the anniversary.  For example, within one year of April 30, 2020 would be Midnight, April 29, 2021.  The anniversary - April 30 - is the one year mark.

If you are discussing employment contracts someone would need to read the specific contract.  I have never seen "one year" interpreted as 365 days and 6 hours.

I fail to understand the leap year reasoning.  It's Midnight of the day before the anniversary date.

Tavy · Answer

Midnight on the day before.

Anonymous · Answer

usually  midnight on the last day

How is one exact year calculated from a certain date for legal purposes?

5 Answers