diff --git a/scalafmt-sysops/shared/src/main/scala/org/scalafmt/sysops/FileOps.scala b/scalafmt-sysops/shared/src/main/scala/org/scalafmt/sysops/FileOps.scala
index 6719a83f6e..535ff11fee 100644
--- a/scalafmt-sysops/shared/src/main/scala/org/scalafmt/sysops/FileOps.scala
+++ b/scalafmt-sysops/shared/src/main/scala/org/scalafmt/sysops/FileOps.scala
@@ -11,17 +11,21 @@ import org.scalafmt.CompatCollections.JavaConverters._
 
 object FileOps {
 
-  @inline
-  def getLastModifiedMsec(file: Path): Long =
-    Files.getLastModifiedTime(file, LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS).toMillis
+  def getLastModifiedMsec(file: Path): Long = {
+    val attributes = getAttributes(file)
+    val mtime = attributes.lastModifiedTime().toMillis
+    if (attributes.isSymbolicLink)
+      math.max(mtime, Files.getLastModifiedTime(file).toMillis)
+    else mtime
+  }
 
   @inline
   def isDirectory(file: Path): Boolean =
-    Files.isDirectory(file, LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS)
+    Files.isDirectory(file)
 
   @inline
   def isRegularFile(file: Path): Boolean =
-    Files.isRegularFile(file, LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS)
+    Files.isRegularFile(file)
 
   @inline
   def getAttributes(file: Path): BasicFileAttributes =
@@ -31,6 +35,10 @@ object FileOps {
       LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS
     )
 
+  @inline
+  def getAttributesFollowLinks(file: Path): BasicFileAttributes =
+    Files.readAttributes(file, classOf[BasicFileAttributes])
+
   def listFiles(path: String): Seq[Path] =
     listFiles(getFile(path))