Employee Eligibility

Remember, the hours of service are hours worked during the 12-month period immediately prior to the start of the leave. Eligibility is determined the first time FMLA leave is taken for the same qualifying reason in the applicable 12-month leave year.

Additionally, special rules apply to an employee who is re-employed following service covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Under USERRA:

• An employee will be credited with the hours of service that would have been performed but for the period of absence from work due to or necessitated by USERRA-covered service.
• The employee's work schedule before the employee’s USERRA-covered service can generally be used for calculations in order to determine the hours that would have been worked during the period of USERRA-covered service.

Given this additional information, how many hours of service has the employee been employed by this employer during the last 12 months?

• Fewer than 1,250 hours
• 1,250 hours or more

For more information on this aspect of the FMLA, see the FMLA regulations: § 825.110(c)(2)