The ability to take unpaid leave is a key workplace protection. Since the implementation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) decades ago, workers facing various forms of personal hardship have been able to maintain their employment despite their challenges.
Typically, the FMLA requires that employers allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, although certain less common circumstances may make workers eligible for up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave. It can be difficult for employers to find replacement staff and keep a position available for someone gone for multiple months.
Does the FMLA apply to all small businesses?
Businesses need to have sufficient employees
For the FMLA to apply to an organization, the company must have a minimum number of workers. Typically, there need to be at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of where the worker requesting leave performs their job.
The worker who requests leave also has to have a sufficient work history to qualify. Specifically, they need to have been with the company for at least a year and must have at least 1,250 hours of work performed within that year.
Employers who are subject to the FMLA may have to find ways to accommodate a worker’s leave request. Smaller businesses can decide whether or not to grant leave upon receiving a request from an employee but are not necessarily legally required to do so. Learning more about the employment laws that apply to small businesses can help companies properly respond to employee requests and allegations of wrongful termination.