Highlights
- To stay compliant with FMLA you need to be familiarized with its requirements, including employee eligibility, qualifying reasons for leave, and notice requirements.
- In some cases, employers may be covered by FMLA even if their businesses have fewer than 50 employees.
- Resource Management, Inc. simplifies HR and ensures FMLA compliance for your business. Contact us to learn more.
As a small business owner, understanding FMLA regulations — including when they apply, how they work, and their precise requirements for employers — can be overwhelming.
This article addresses the most frequent questions about FMLA for small businesses, so you can manage employee leave with confidence.
Let’s jump right in!
What Is FMLA?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides eligible employees with job-protected, unpaid leave (of up to 12 weeks) for specific family and medical reasons.
Qualifying events for FMLA involve the birth or adoption of an employee’s child, taking care of their spouse, child, or parent with a serious illness, or recovering from their own health condition. FMLA also contemplates military family leave, allowing eligible employees to take leave for certain reasons related to a family member’s military service.
The purpose of FMLA is to promote a healthier work-life balance, allowing employees to address personal or family needs while keeping their jobs and continuing to receive health benefits.
What Employers Are Covered by FMLA?
- Private sector employers: Companies with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius of the worksite. The 50-employee threshold is met if a company employed at least 50 employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or previous calendar year.
- Public agencies: This includes all levels of government (federal, state, and local), regardless of the number of employees.
- Public and private elementary and secondary schools: These schools are covered regardless of the number of employees.
Does FMLA Apply to Small Businesses?
Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are generally not covered by the FMLA. However, there are some exceptions:
Integrated Employers
Sometimes, separate businesses are treated as a single employer under the FMLA. This is known as integrated employers.
For example, image you own Company A (25 employees) and company B (30 employees). Individually, neither of them meets the FMLA’s 50-employee threshold for coverage. However, if the two companies are considered an integrated employer, their employee counts are combined. In this scenario, with a total of 55 employees, your businesses would be covered under FMLA.
So, what makes them an integrated employer? These are the key factors:
- Common management: Do the same individuals make decisions for both companies?
- Interrelated operations: Do the companies provide complementary services to the same customers or otherwise rely on each other’s operations?
- Centralized control of labor relations: Are personnel decisions (hiring, firing, leave, etc.) made at a shared corporate level?
- Degree of common ownership or financial control: Are the companies owned by the same person or entity, or is there significant financial control exerted by one entity over the other?
Determining if two or more companies meet the integrated employer test is based on the overall relationship between them, rather than individual factors.
Joint Employers
This occurs when two or more employers share control over an employee’s working conditions; for example, employees working for a temporary staffing agency. In this case, both employers may be responsible for FMLA compliance (if the combined number of employees between the joint employers is over 50).
State FMLA laws
Additionally, small businesses should be aware of state-specific family and medical leave laws, which may have different eligibility requirements and provide additional protections for employees.
Who is Eligible for FMLA?
To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must work for a covered employer for at least 12 months or 1,250 hours in the past 12 months.
Qualifying Reasons: When Are Employees Entitled to FMLA?
Eligible employees can take unpaid, job-protected leave in the following situations:
Serious health condition
Employees can be eligible for FMLA when suffering from a serious health condition that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a healthcare provider, making them unable to perform one or more essential functions of their job.
Caring for a family member
Employees can take FMLA leave to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition. This allows them to provide physical or psychological care, make arrangements for medical treatment, or attend to other related needs.
Childbirth and bonding
FMLA leave is available to eligible employees for the birth and care of a newborn child, or the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care. This allows parents to bond with their new child and attend to their care needs during the first months.
Military family leave
FMLA provides two types of military family leave:
- To address issues arising from a covered family member’s active duty or call to active duty in the Armed Forces.
- To care for a covered family member who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty while on active military duty.
How Does FMLA Leave Work?
As an employer, you must have an established procedure for requesting FMLA leave. This might involve employees completing a request form and providing supporting documentation, such as a certification from their healthcare provider or any other relevant documentation.
Employees can take off work for a continuous period, such as several weeks or months, or in smaller increments, such as a few hours or days at a time, as needed.
You may require employees on FMLA leave to provide periodic updates on their status and intention to return to work. If the leave was due to the employee’s own serious health condition, you might require a fitness-for-duty certification before they return to work.
Under FMLA, you must maintain the same group health insurance coverage for an employee on FMLA leave as if they had continued to work. Upon returning from FMLA leave, you must restore the employee to the same or an equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms and conditions.
Ensure FMLA Compliance with Resource Management, Inc.
Navigating FMLA requirements can be challenging as an employer, but it’s crucial to ensure compliance and support your workforce.
At Resource Management, Inc., we provide HR management and consulting services, helping small and mid-sized businesses stay compliant with state, federal, and local regulations. Our experienced team can help you address employment issues, create tailored handbooks, and provide helpful support and guidance to confidently manage FMLA and other HR matters.
Contact us today to learn more about our HR solutions and how we can help your business thrive.
