Are Your Employees Covered Under the FMLA?

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers covered by the law to provide eligible employees unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying reasons.

FMLA Covered Employers

FMLA covers the following employers:

• Public agencies, including federal, state, and local governments;
• Local educational agencies, including public and private elementary and secondary schools and public school boards; and
• Private-sector employers with 50 or more employees during 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or previous calendar year.

Employees are employed each working day of the calendar week if they work any part of the week. The workweeks do not have to be consecutive.

Determining the FMLA 50-employee Threshold

In counting employees, employers must include:

• Employees working in the United States or a U.S. territory or possession;
• Employees whose name appears on payroll records, whether or not any compensation is received for the workweek;
• Employees on paid or unpaid leave if there is a reasonable expectation that the employee will return to active employment;
• Employees of foreign firms operating in the United States; and
• Employees who are part-time, temporary, seasonal, or full-time.

Once an employer meets the requirement for FMLA coverage, the employer is a covered employer and will remain covered as long as it employs 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in either the current calendar year or the previous calendar year.

Integrated Employers

Separate businesses may be a single employer for FMLA purposes if they are an integrated employer. Separate businesses may be an integrated employer if they have common management, interrelated operations, and common ownership or financial control. The employees of all entities making up the integrated employer must be counted.

Joint Employers

Businesses may be joint employers under the FMLA if they exercise control over an employee’s work or working conditions. For example, joint employment may exist when a temporary employment agency supplies employees to another business. Employees jointly employed by two employers must be counted by both, even if the employee is on only one payroll.

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Outsource Your FMLA Administration

With so much to manage regarding FMLA, it can be difficult for employers to handle eligibility, track hours effectively, assist with returning to work, and much more. That’s why outsourcing your employee leave management makes sense. GTM’s Leave Specialists will help plan, track, and handle employee leaves, including administration, claims management, return-to-work support, and reporting. The service is delivered via a secure, cloud-based solution backed by a dedicated team of SHRM- and FMLA-certified specialists.

Download our free guide on outsourcing your leave management, then fill out the brief form below for more information.