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FMLA eligibility

64754296475429 6 Posts
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We are a small company based out of NY with location in RI and CA.  We have 10 employees in NY, 14 in RI and 4 in CA.  If I understand FMLA correctly we would not be required to offer it until our locations met the "50 employees within 75 mile radius" criteria.  Is this accurate?  I am revising the employee handbook and I want to replace the FMLA wording with just a straight request for leave so we are not bound to the FMLA guidelines. 
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  • ktadrosktadros 8 Posts
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    Yes, you are correct. You can visit the DOL website at http://www.dol.gov/. On the upper right side it says "A-Z", select that and find FMLA is the listing. At the very bottom of the page you will find 29 CFR Part 825, click on that and it will pull up tons of info on FMLA.

    Hope that helps.

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  • TXHRGuyTXHRGuy 1,586 Posts
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    After 700 views, I'm surprised there has been no response.

    It looks like your company has a total of 28 employees.  Do you have any other employees in any other locations?  Is the business you are talking about owned by an entity that has other operations?  Does your business use any "contractors" or temporary workers from an agency?

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  • dgoodhalldgoodhall 7 Posts
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    As I read it it looks like 50 employees total on your payroll for the company. I think it does not cover an individual employee if he/she works more than 75 miles from your corporate office or base office. Am I wrong about this? I too am just now starting to get this policy up and running as we are now at 46 employees spread over 4 states and are expecting to hit 50 fairly soon.
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  • Chicago1Chicago1 63 Posts
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    You are correct.  The 75-mile radius language only applies when determining whether an employee is eligible for leave.  Employers are covered if they meet the 50 or more employee requirement (no geographic limitation).  You can find this in the regs:  29 CFR 825.110 and 29 825.104. 
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  • 64754296475429 6 Posts
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    So I will be a covered employer once I hit 50 employees total, however, if each of my sites have under 50 employees within the 75 mile range then technically none of the employee are eligible for FMLA?  Is that correct?
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  • TXHRGuyTXHRGuy 1,586 Posts
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    That depends on your answers to the questions I listed, above.

    The two important questions are "how do I count the 50 employees" and "how far is 75 miles?"  Right now, we still do not have enough information to determine if you have met the fifty person headcount requirement.

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  • 64754296475429 6 Posts
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    Our only locations are CA-4 employees, RI, 13 employees (4 temp staff from agency) and 11 in NY.  Each are there own entity but we are all commonly owned so I believe I have to look at everyone when reviewing these policies.  Does this help?
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  • TXHRGuyTXHRGuy 1,586 Posts
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    [quote user="6475429"]Our only locations are CA-4 employees, RI, 13 employees (4 temp staff from agency) and 11 in NY.  Each are there own entity but we are all commonly owned so I believe I have to look at everyone when reviewing these policies.  Does this help?[/quote]

     

    It appears that you do not have FMLA obligations at this time.  Please see 25 C.F.R. 825.104, 105, 106, 107, 111 to be sure.  You can find the code of federal regulations at gpoaccess.  Also be aware that each state may have its own state version of fmla that may have different standards of applicability.

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