diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/py26-multiprocess-queue-bug.yml b/changelogs/fragments/py26-multiprocess-queue-bug.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c61cc55564d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/py26-multiprocess-queue-bug.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - account for bug in Python 2.6 that occurs during interpreter shutdown to avoid stack trace
diff --git a/lib/ansible/executor/task_queue_manager.py b/lib/ansible/executor/task_queue_manager.py
index 485c28bc63a..f43bdc789b7 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/executor/task_queue_manager.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/executor/task_queue_manager.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
 import os
+import sys
 import tempfile
 import time
 
@@ -293,6 +294,22 @@ class TaskQueueManager:
         self._final_q.close()
         self._cleanup_processes()
 
+        # A bug exists in Python 2.6 that causes an exception to be raised during
+        # interpreter shutdown. This is only an issue in our CI testing but we
+        # hit it frequently enough to add a small sleep to avoid the issue.
+        # This can be removed once we have split controller available in CI.
+        #
+        # Further information:
+        #     Issue: https://bugs.python.org/issue4106
+        #     Fix:   https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/d316315a8781
+        #
+        try:
+            if (2, 6) == (sys.version_info[0:2]):
+                time.sleep(0.0001)
+        except (IndexError, AttributeError):
+            # In case there is an issue getting the version info, don't raise an Exception
+            pass
+
     def _cleanup_processes(self):
         if hasattr(self, '_workers'):
             for attempts_remaining in range(C.WORKER_SHUTDOWN_POLL_COUNT - 1, -1, -1):