The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 6 | how much leave can an employee tAke? | 111
This rule applies only to intermittent leave taken for the same condition. If
an employee properly qualifies for intermittent leave and then needs FMLA
leave for a different reason within the same 12-month period, you should
recalculate the employee’s eligibility at the time of the second request. In
doing so, you needn’t count the employee’s leave hours as hours worked.
The odd result of this rule is that an employee might be eligible for one type
of FMLA leave (intermittent leave that began when the employee met the
eligibility requirements) but not for others.
EXAMPLE 1: Telly, one of your company’s part-time employees, has worked 25
hours per week for five years. For the first 12 weeks of 2007, Telly needs to reduce his
hours to 20 per week so he can care for his wife, who is receiving cancer treatment.
Your company uses the calendar leave year calculation. In July of 2007, Telly’s wife
takes a turn for the worse, and he asks to resume his reduced leave schedule effective
July 1. You count up his time for the last 12 months and discover that he’s only
worked 1,240 hours. Should you deny his leave request?
No. Because Telly needs intermittent leave for the same condition, you can’t redetermine
his eligibility during the leave year. Although his hours have dropped below
the eligibility threshold, he is still entitled to leave.
EXAMPLE 2: Now assume that Telly needed to take time off, starting July 1, 2007,
for his own health condition. Should you deny this request?
Yes. Because Telly is requesting leave for a different condition, you must redetermine
his eligibility. He hasn’t worked 1,250 hours at the time his leave is scheduled to
begin, so he isn’t qualified to take this leave.