To qualify for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months, completed 1,250 hours during that period, and work at a site with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.

But what if you work from home? The rise of remote work has introduced new challenges for determining eligibility under the FMLA. 

However, the U.S. Department of Labor has clarified that if you are a remote employee, a personal residence is not considered a worksite. Instead, the worksite is the office to which the employee reports or from where their assignments are made. This rule applies regardless of whether the employee works fully remotely or in a hybrid setting.

Remote employees are counted alongside on-site employees at the location directing their work. For example, if a remote worker’s assignments come from an office with 50 or more employees within 75 miles, then the remote work qualifies for FMLA leave if other conditions are satisfied like hours worked and length of employment.