We have an employee who has been out on Short Term Disability since the end of June. She does not currently qualify for FMLA since she has not been an employee for 12 months. However, her 1-year (12-month) anniversary is coming up in October. If she is still out on STD at that time, will she then meet FMLA eligibility requirements?
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Thank you for your inquiry. She may be. Whether the employee will be eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will depend on how many hours she worked in the previous 12-month period.
The FMLA defines an eligible employee as one who:
(1) has worked for the employer for at least 12 months (not necessarily consecutively)
(2) has worked for the employer for at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months; and
(3) works at or is assigned to a worksite that has 50 or more employees or which is within 75 miles of employer worksites that taken together have a total of 50 or more employees. (See 29 U.S.C. sec. 2611(2)).
According to the FMLA regulations, whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours is determined by counting the actual number of hours the employee has worked in the previous 12-month period. Paid vacations, holidays, and sick leave are not counted. (See 29 C.F.R. §825.110(c)).
The key for this employee, then, is the number of hours she has worked leading up to her short-term disability leave between October 2015 and now. If she was working full-time up through June 2016 (i.e. 40 hours per week), she likely will meet the FMLA eligibility criteria since 1,250 hours represents a little over 31 weeks of work in a year at 40 hours per week.
Can a brother be considered for fmla ? State of Ohio set rules or local school district ?
Lost sister last year. Parents deceased. No children. She does have a husband.
Only other living relative, Brother, is very, very ill with possibility he may not survive.
Any chance she may qualify for fmla ?