Third Circuit Employment Law 101: Who Does The FMLA Cover?

My blog designers told me that if I want to build SEO — that’s Search Engine Optimization to you rookies — I’d better write about employment law issues affecting Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware (duh!) and “optimize” my blog post titles with the keywords near the front.

Learn more about which employees are covered after the jump.

Well, done and done! And it’s a win/win, because my wonderful readers will a learn little something today about how the Third Circuit deals with FMLA eligibility.

So what employers does the FMLA cover? A covered employer engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of the 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. In addition, the Supreme Court has held that states are employers subject to the FMLA.

Employees eligible for leave under the FMLA must have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months and must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period. A covered employer may limit a husband and wife who are both eligible for FMLA leave and are employed by the same covered employer to a combined total of 12 weeks of leave during any 12-month period if the the leave is taken for: (1) the birth of the employee’s son or daughter or to care for that newborn; (2) for placement of a sone or daughter for adoption or foster care, or to care for the child after placement; or (3) to care for the employee’s parent.

For more information on FMLA eligibility requirements, check out the United States Department of Labor FMLA resource