More Than a Remote Possibility: Why Your Remote Out of State Employees May Be Entitled to Federal FMLA Leave
In our post-COVID world, it is common for employers to hire fully remote employees who work out of state. One of the challenges many employers face in this remote-work world is how to address complicated HR issues such as leaves of absence for those remote employees, including whether such employees are eligible for medical leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). (Note: this blog post addresses issues only under the federal FMLA, not under any state FMLA.) As most employers already know, managing FMLA leaves of absence is often a complicated and frustrating process. To be eligible for leave under the federal FMLA, an employee must (1) have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, (2) have at least 1,250 hours of service for the employer during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave, and (3) work at a worksite where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. The question is: where is the remote worker’s “worksite”? I...