The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

48 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
Don’t forget to track hours worked by employees who aren’t entitled to
earn overtime pay (called “exempt employees”). Many companies don’t
routinely record hours worked by exempt employees. After all, these
employees are not typically paid by the hour, but instead must put in as
many hours as it takes to get the job done.
Unless you have records showing the actual hours worked by exempt
employees, however, you must assume that they have worked the required
1,250 hours as long as they’ve been employed for 12 months. You may also
need to know the exact hours worked by an exempt employee if he or she
wants to take intermittent or reduced-schedule leave. This type of leave is
calculated as a reduction in the hours or days the employee typically works,
so you can’t figure out how much FMLA intermittent or reduced-schedule
leave time an exempt employee is entitled to unless you know how many
hours the employee has worked.
Í Managers’
Flowchart
FMLA-Eligible Employees
no
1A) Full-time employees: Employed with company for at least
12 months prior to first day of requested leave?
yes
no
1B) Part-time employees: Employed with company for at least
52 weeks prior to first day of requested leave?
yes
no
1C) Joint employees: Employed jointly with your company and
another, and worked for one or the other for at least 12 months
prior to first day of requested leave?
yes
Not eligible
2) Employee worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month
(or 52-week) period immediately preceding leave?
yes
Eligible for FMLA leave