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FMLA eligibility: the four tests that decide who qualifies

The FMLA gives an eligible employee up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. The work is in the word eligible. Four separate tests have to line up before the law applies: the employer, the months, the hours, and the distance. Miss any one and the federal entitlement does not exist, even when the reason for leave is real and urgent.

About a 7 minute read Last verified 2 June 2026
The short answer

As of June 2026, an employee is eligible for FMLA leave only when all four tests are met at once: the employer is covered, the employee has been on the payroll for at least 12 months, the employee actually worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave, and the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of that worksite. An eligible employee gets up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, or up to 26 weeks for military caregiver leave. The tests are measured as of the day the leave starts, so eligibility can change from one leave to the next.

12 weeks
Unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for most qualifying reasons
26 weeks
In a single 12-month period for military caregiver leave
The rule in one idea

Eligibility is four tests, not one

People reach for the FMLA the moment a serious illness, a new baby, or a family emergency lands. The first question is not what the leave covers. It is whether the employee qualifies at all, because the law reaches only employees who clear four tests. Three are about the employee and one is about the employer. All four have to be true, and they are checked as of the day the leave begins.

The four eligibility tests, all required
1
A covered employerThe employer has 50 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more workweeks of the current or prior calendar year. Public agencies and public or private elementary and secondary schools are covered at any size.
2
Twelve months of employmentThe employee has worked for the employer for at least 12 months. The months need not run back to back, though employment before a break of seven years or more usually does not count, with narrow exceptions for military service and a written rehire commitment.
3
1,250 hours of actual workThe employee worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months right before the leave, about 24 hours a week across the year. Only hours actually worked count. Paid time off, holidays, and unpaid leave do not, though overtime hours do.
4
Fifty employees within 75 milesThe employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite, measured by the shortest route over public roads rather than as the crow flies.

Clear all four and the employee is eligible. Fall short on even one and the federal FMLA does not apply, though a state leave law sometimes will.

What it covers

The reasons that qualify

Eligibility opens the door. A qualifying reason is what the employee walks through it for. The FMLA recognizes six, and they map to two entitlement caps.

Birth and bonding 12 weeks

The birth of a child and time to bond, taken within 12 months of the birth.

Adoption or foster placement 12 weeks

A child newly placed with the employee, and time to bond, within 12 months of the placement.

A family member’s serious health condition 12 weeks

Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. The FMLA’s definition of family is narrower than most people assume, and in-laws, for instance, are not covered.

The employee’s own serious health condition 12 weeks

An illness or injury that keeps the employee from doing the essential functions of the job.

Military qualifying exigency 12 weeks

A need arising from a spouse, child, or parent being on covered active duty, such as short-notice deployment or related arrangements.

Military caregiver leave 26 weeks

Caring for a covered servicemember or veteran with a serious injury or illness. This is the one reason that carries the higher 26-week cap.

The entitlement

What eligibility actually gets you

An eligible employee can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the first five reasons, and up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period for military caregiver leave. The 26-week figure is a combined cap, so it covers any other FMLA reason taken in that same period rather than stacking on top of the 12 weeks.

Two protections come with it. Group health coverage continues during the leave on the same terms as if the employee were still working, and the employee returns to the same job or one that is virtually identical in pay, benefits, and duties. Leave can run in one block, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule when it is medically necessary, or for bonding when the employer agrees.

Employers choose how to measure the 12-month period: a calendar year, a fixed year such as a fiscal year or a hire anniversary, a forward count from the first day of leave, or a rolling lookback from each new request. The method matters, because it decides how much leave is left when a second request arrives. Pick one, apply it the same way to everyone, and put it in writing.

A worked example

Run the four tests on a real case

The tests read simply on paper and are easy to misjudge in practice, usually around the hours and the headcount. Two quick scenarios at the same employer show how it plays out.

Maria, satellite officeEligible
  • Covered employer, 60 staff within 75 miles
  • 14 months on the payroll
  • About 1,500 hours worked last year
  • 50 within 75 miles is met
All four tests met. Maria’s own office has only 18 people, but the 50 count reaches 75 miles, so the larger company brings her in.
Sam, same office, part-timeNot eligible
  • Same covered employer
  • 13 months on the payroll
  • About 900 hours worked last year
  • 50 within 75 miles is met
Three tests met, but 900 hours falls short of 1,250, so Sam is not FMLA-eligible for now, even after more than a year on the job. A state leave law might still apply.
Where it goes wrong

Four traps behind most FMLA mistakes

  • A small office is not a free pass.The 50-employee count reaches across 75 miles, so a 12-person satellite of a larger company can still be covered. Size up the radius, not just the room.
  • Counting paid time off toward the 1,250 hours.Only hours actually worked count. A salaried full-timer almost always clears the bar, but a part-time, reduced-schedule, or heavily absent employee may not, and the count is yours to track.
  • Assuming a public employer is too small to be covered.Public agencies and schools are covered employers at any headcount. Their employees still need the 50-within-75-miles count to be eligible, so coverage and eligibility stay two separate questions.
  • Treating eligibility as permanent.Each test is measured as of the day a leave starts. An employee can qualify for one leave and not the next if hours drop below 1,250 or the worksite headcount falls under 50.
State law

Your state may go further than the federal floor

The FMLA is a federal floor. A growing number of states now run their own paid family and medical leave programs that sit on top of it, often with lower employer-size thresholds and, unlike the FMLA, real wage replacement. Washington, for one, dropped its job-protection threshold to 25 employees in 2026. Where a state program and the FMLA both reach the same absence, they generally run at the same time rather than back to back.

State leave programs change often and differ widely on who is covered, how long leave lasts, and whether it is paid. Treat any state detail you read, here or anywhere, as a starting point and confirm the current rule from the state agency before you administer a leave.

Pause and get help on the close calls. FMLA interference and retaliation claims are among the more expensive HR mistakes, and the close calls cluster in predictable places: the 1,250-hour count for an irregular schedule, intermittent leave for a chronic condition, the overlap with the ADA and state leave laws, and any move to deny eligibility, end a leave, or discipline around an absence that might be protected. When a decision sits near one of those lines, a short conversation with employment counsel before you act is cheaper than the claim that follows a wrong one.

Sources

Where these figures come from

Primary sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 28. The Family and Medical Leave Act overview. The agency source for the three core employee tests, the covered-employer definition, the six qualifying reasons, and the 12-week entitlement. dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/28-fmlaChecked 2 June 2026
  2. 29 CFR 825.110, Eligible employee. Defines the 12-month and 1,250-hour requirements, sets the 1,250 hours by actual hours worked under FLSA principles, adds the seven-year break-in-service rule, and fixes the measurement as of the day leave starts. ecfr.gov, 29 CFR 825.110Checked 2 June 2026
  3. 29 CFR 825.111, the 50-within-75-miles test. The source for the worksite definition and the rule that the 75 miles are measured by surface miles over public roads by the shortest route. ecfr.gov, 29 CFR 825.111Checked 2 June 2026
  4. 29 CFR 825.127, military caregiver leave. The source for the 26-week entitlement in a single 12-month period, its combined-cap rule, and who counts as a covered servicemember. ecfr.gov, 29 CFR 825.127Checked 2 June 2026
Put it to work

Tools that use these rules

Carry this into a real decision

Leave and Accommodation Kit. Includes an FMLA eligibility check that gates on all four tests, a leave tracker, and the ADA accommodation and state-leave layers that ride alongside a single request. Find it at truestephr.com.

PTO and Leave Tracker. A simpler way to log time off and keep the hours and dates straight, which is exactly what the 1,250-hour test turns on. It is free at truestephr.com.

Questions

Common questions

Not federally, on its own. The FMLA reaches employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks. But the 50 are counted within 75 miles, so a small office of a larger company can be covered, and a growing number of states protect leave at smaller employers. Check your state before you assume you are out.

No. Only hours actually worked count, under the same rules the FLSA uses. Overtime hours do count. A full-time employee almost always clears 1,250 in a year, but a part-time or heavily absent employee may not, so keep the count rather than guessing.

The FMLA itself is unpaid. Employees can use accrued paid time off during it, and many states now run paid family and medical leave programs that pay benefits and run alongside FMLA. Group health coverage continues during FMLA leave on the same terms as active work.

Yes. Each test is checked as of the day a leave begins. An employee whose hours fall below 1,250 in the prior 12 months, or whose worksite headcount drops under the 50-within-75-miles line, can lose eligibility for a later leave even if an earlier one qualified.