The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

38 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
worksite or within a 75-mile radius of the worksite. If your company
employs thousands of FMLA-eligible workers, but has several employees who
work in a remote satellite office that’s more than 75 miles from any other
company worksite, the employees in the satellite office won’t be entitled to
FMLA leave.
Tip
Don’t forget to count joint employees. When figuring out whether there
are 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite, make sure to
count all employees—including joint employees.
Measuring the 75-Mile Radius
If your company has a “campus” of buildings grouped together, they count
as one worksite. Similarly, unconnected buildings used by your company
within a reasonable geographic vicinity (for example, within the city limits)
are considered a single worksite. This means that the 75-mile radius can be
measured out from any of the related buildings: If there are 50 employees
within 75 miles of any related building, all employees who work in one of
the related buildings meet this part of the eligibility test.
Example: Petra has worked full time at the Main Street outlet of your company,
the Grande Baguette bakery chain, for the last four years. Grande Baguette employs
20 people at the Main Street outlet and another 20 people at another location in the
city, the First Street outlet. It employs another 20 people at an outlet in a suburban
mall that’s 77 miles away from Petra’s outlet but only 72 miles from the First Street
store. Petra is pregnant and has requested leave to begin on the date of her scheduled
C-section. Is Petra entitled to FMLA leave?
Yes. Even though there are only 20 employees at the Grande Baguette outlet where
Petra works, the two city locations count as one worksite. There are 40 employees
at the citywide worksite, and an additional 20 employees at the mall outlet. Because
the mall outlet is within 75 miles of one of the city locations, those employees count
when determining Petra’s eligibility—even though they don’t work within 75 miles of
her actual worksite. Because there are 60 employees within 75 miles under the FMLA
definition, Petra is eligible for leave.