• An employee’s eligibility to take FMLA leave is determined by three criteria.

When an employer learns of an employee’s need for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, it must ensure that the employee is eligible to take leave.

There are three basic eligibility criteria that an employee of a covered employee must meet:

• The first is that an employee must have been employed by a company for at least 12 months. Employers should be able to determine this easily by looking at the employee’s hire date(s). The 12 months need not be consecutive.
• The second criterion is that the employee must also have worked at least 1,250 hours for the employer during the 12-months before leave is to begin.
• The third eligibility criterion is that the employee must work at a worksite where there are at least 50 company employees within 75 miles of the worksite.

Please note that flight crewmembers have alternative eligibility criteria.