Company adding people

As I said on another post our company is rather small. Currently we only have thirty-two full time ees. We are looking to hire at least twenty-five part time ees along with ten more full time ees. Will we be required to comply with FMLA even though we only will have fourty-two full time ees? The part-timers will never reach the eligibility requirements of 1,250 hours. And if the ee does work for us part time does that time count towards eligibility or just from full time on?

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  • Stacy-

    You present a very good question. It appears you might be combining two specific FMLA tests: 1) whether you are a covered employer and 2) whether the specific employee is eligible for leave.

    Private employers are covered by the FMLA if they employ at least 50 employees for at least 20 or more weeks in the current or preceeding calendar year. (If you have more than one location - you must have 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite where the employee requesting leave works.) It does not matter if the employee worked part-time hours, only if she was on your payroll for at least 20 weeks.

    Employees are eligible for FMLA leave if they worked for the employer for at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the leave.

    For example, you may have some seasonal employees who work 21 weeks a year for you. They are counted to determine whether you have the requisite 50 employees. But that specific seasonal employee may not qualify for leave because he didn't work the requisite 12 months.

    I hope this helps!

    Anne Williams
    Attorney Editor
    M. Lee Smith Publishers, LLC
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