FMLA eligibility: the four tests that decide who qualifies

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.

1. A covered employer. The 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 employment. The employee has worked for the employer for at least 12 months. The months need not run back to back. Employment before a break of seven years or more usually does not count. Narrow exceptions cover military service and a written rehire commitment.
3. 1,250 hours of actual work. The 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 miles. The employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite. The distance is 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.

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.

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. Military caregiver leave runs up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period. The 26-week figure is a combined cap. 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. 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. The options are a calendar year, or a fixed year such as a fiscal year or a hire anniversary. The others are 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.

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 office

Eligible

• 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-time

Not 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.

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.

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. They often have 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. Confirm the current rule from the state agency before you administer a leave.

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