When is Medical Leave Protected by the FMLA? - Austin / San Antonio Employment Law Attorney Explains

Texas Employment Lawyer Chris McKinney helps employees with employment law questions all over the State of Texas, including in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston.
You can learn more about his firm here: www.themckinne...
Today's Topic:
Is my medical leave covered by the FMLA?
Hi everyone, I'm Texas Employment Rights Attorney Chris McKinney, and today we're talking about the Family and Medical Leave Act, or the FMLA. The FMLA provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave to certain employees for certain types of health-related issues. So are you covered? Well, in order to answer that question, we need to look at issues concerning the employee, the employer, and the reason that the medical leave is needed, so let's look at that.
First, let's talk about the employer. The FMLA was designed primarily to apply to medium and larger size employers, therefore, an employer must have at least 50 or more employees that work at or near within 75 miles of the work site where the employee in question works, in order for that employer to be covered by the FMLA.
Now, now turning to the employee, the FMLA only applies to employees who have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, and for at least 1,250 hours during the last 12 months. So even if you've worked for an employee for five years, if you're part-time and don't work at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months, then you will not qualify for FMLA leave.
Then lastly, we need to look at the reason for the medical leave. The FMLA provides for 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave for reasons related to healthcare or serious health conditions, such as the birth or care of a newborn, an employee who is unable to work due to his or her own serious health condition, or an employee who needs to take time off to care for the serious health condition of an immediate family member. And for the purposes of the FMLA, when we say, "Immediate family member," we mean a spouse, child, or a parent. There are some other types of leave or reasons for leave that may qualify for FMLA protection, but these are the most common.
If you think that you qualify for FMLA leave and you need to take a medical leave, make sure you bring up the topic and discuss it with your employer. Make a request for FMLA leave directly, and if you can, do it in writing or by email and keep a copy at home, just so there's no question that you actually did make the request. The employer very possibly will ask you to fill out some forms and/or have your doctor fill out some medical forms as well. You should comply with those requests as quickly as possible, and get that information back to your employer.
If you have any more questions or you want to learn more about the FMLA or some other employment law, just visit our website at www.themckinneylawfirm.com. We'll put the link down in the description notes below. Thanks a lot. We'll see you next time.

[@Vrgrouptx]

wow this sucks, i am injured, my employer is based out of AZ, in arizona there are for sure more than 50 employees within a 75 mile radius but i guess since this company expanded to a different state it found a loophole for FMLA, i dont know many automotive shops in the city of el paso tx that have more than 50 employees

[@rrbigfish1]

Is employers required to start a FMLA or short term disability rather the employee wants it or not by law?

[@JackParsons2]

I'm having a medical procedure done and I'm expecting to be back at work in 2 weeks, I have over 400 hours of sick leave banked but my employer is demanding that I apply for FMLA before my procedure. Does this sound normal? I would think FMLA doesn't apply until I use up all of my normal sick leave.

[@CJMac71]

Generally speaking, and employer may require FMLA leave to run concurrently with paid time off.