Human Resource Blog

1,250 hr requirement - same employer?

One of the qualifying requirements for FMLA leave is that the employee must have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months.

If the employee has worked 1,250 hours or more during the previous 12 months for more than one employer, does he/she still meet the qualification?

Example: The employee has worked 900 hours for the current employer during the 6 months prior to application for FMLA leave, and produces records (pay stubs showing hours worked, etc.) from a previous employer documenting 450 hours of work during the 6 months prior to joining his/her current employer, does the employee meet the qualification?

In this example, the employee would have worked 1,350 hours over the previous 12 months, but for more than one employer.

Thank you,

No, this employee does not meet the requirements for FMLA. The employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours for the current employer in the 12 months immediately preceeding the first day of leave. Any time worked for another employer does not count for FMLA purposes.

In addition, the employee must have worked for the current employer for 12 months to qualify for FMLA. The 12 months need not be continuous. An employee who worked for your company for 5 months two years ago and 7 months this year would have worked for the company a total of 12 months and would qualify (assuming that he also met the 1,250-hour requirement.) In your example, if the employee has been with the company only 6 months total, he does not qualify for FMLA regardless of how many hours he has worked.

These two criteria are separate and the employee must meet both of them to qualify for FMLA.