This checker walks through each test the law sets and links each rule it uses to the regulation it comes from.

GovFacts tool

FMLA Eligibility Checker

Answer up to seven questions to see whether the federal Family and Medical Leave Act likely covers you, how much leave you could take and what to do next. It covers the common rules; most “likely not” results list the exceptions that could change it.

Question 1

Who do you work for?A private company or nonprofit (other than an elementary or secondary school), including a staffing agency that placed youA state, county or city government, or another public agency, including a public college or public preschoolA public or private elementary or secondary school (not a preschool, college or trade school)The federal government, including the U.S. Postal Service

How to answer this

State and local government agencies are covered no matter how many people they employ. Public and private elementary and secondary schools are covered no matter how many people they employ. § 825.104(a)

A state or local government body, or an interstate government agency, is a public agency, covered at any size, if it has taxing authority or its head or board is elected by the general public or appointed with an elected official’s approval. A board elected only by members or owners, as at a cooperative or credit union, doesn’t make an employer public. § 825.108(a), (b), (d)

The public agencies the rule covers are federal, state and local governments, their agencies, and interstate government agencies; tribal governments aren’t listed. § 825.108(a)

These school rules don’t apply to preschools, colleges and universities, or trade schools. § 825.600(a)

The FMLA covers employees, not independent contractors running their own business; the whole working relationship decides it, not any single factor. § 825.105(a)

A payroll or HR company (a PEO) that only handles administrative work isn’t the employer for the FMLA; the company the employee works for is. § 825.106(b)(2)

An employee is likely eligible if all of these are true:

A private employer is covered if it had 50 or more employees for each working day in at least 20 workweeks of the same calendar year, either the year the leave starts or the year before. An employer that took over the business of a covered employer is usually covered too. State and local government agencies are covered no matter how many people they employ. Public and private elementary and secondary schools are covered no matter how many people they employ. § 825.104(a)
An employee must have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months. § 825.110(a)(1)
An employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave starts. § 825.110(a)(2)
The employer must have at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite. The 50 employees are counted when the employee gives notice of the need for leave, and a later drop doesn’t change eligibility for that leave. School employees still need 50 employees within 75 miles of their worksite. § 825.110(a)(3)§ 825.110(e)§ 825.600(b)

And the employee needs leave for one of these reasons:

The FMLA covers the birth of a child and caring for the newborn. § 825.112(a)(1)
It also covers time off during pregnancy, for prenatal care or when the pregnancy makes the employee unable to work, before the birth. § 825.120(a)(4)
It covers a child placed with the employee for adoption or foster care. § 825.112(a)(2)
It covers the employee’s own serious health condition that prevents working at all or doing any one of the essential functions of the job, including time away for treatment. § 825.112(a)(4), 825.123(a)
It covers caring for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. A child counts if under 18, or 18 or older and unable to care for themselves because of a mental or physical disability. § 825.112(a)(3)§ 825.122(d)
It covers certain needs that arise when the employee’s spouse, child or parent is deployed with the military to a foreign country. § 825.126(a)
It covers caring for a servicemember or recent veteran with a serious injury or illness, for the servicemember’s spouse, child, parent or next of kin. § 825.127(d)

The two military reasons have extra conditions, so for them the checker says it depends.

An eligible employee can take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period. To care for a covered servicemember or veteran, an eligible employee can take up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period. FMLA leave is unpaid and job-protected. § 825.200(a)§ 825.200(f)§ 825.100(a)

How This Checker Decides

An employee is likely eligible if all of these are true:

A private employer is covered if it had 50 or more employees for each working day in at least 20 workweeks of the same calendar year, either the year the leave starts or the year before. An employer that took over the business of a covered employer is usually covered too. State and local government agencies are covered no matter how many people they employ. Public and private elementary and secondary schools are covered no matter how many people they employ. § 825.104(a)
An employee must have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months. § 825.110(a)(1)
An employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave starts. § 825.110(a)(2)
The employer must have at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite. The 50 employees are counted when the employee gives notice of the need for leave, and a later drop doesn’t change eligibility for that leave. School employees still need 50 employees within 75 miles of their worksite. § 825.110(a)(3)§ 825.110(e)§ 825.600(b)

And the employee needs leave for one of these reasons:

The FMLA covers the birth of a child and caring for the newborn. § 825.112(a)(1)
It also covers time off during pregnancy, for prenatal care or when the pregnancy makes the employee unable to work, before the birth. § 825.120(a)(4)
It covers a child placed with the employee for adoption or foster care. § 825.112(a)(2)
It covers the employee’s own serious health condition that prevents working at all or doing any one of the essential functions of the job, including time away for treatment. § 825.112(a)(4), 825.123(a)
It covers caring for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. A child counts if under 18, or 18 or older and unable to care for themselves because of a mental or physical disability. § 825.112(a)(3)§ 825.122(d)
It covers certain needs that arise when the employee’s spouse, child or parent is deployed with the military to a foreign country. § 825.126(a)
It covers caring for a servicemember or recent veteran with a serious injury or illness, for the servicemember’s spouse, child, parent or next of kin. § 825.127(d)

The two military reasons have extra conditions, so for them the checker says it depends.

What FMLA Leave Provides

Earned paid leave may be used during it. If the employee doesn’t choose to, the employer can require using it. Neither the employee nor the employer can require using paid leave for time off covered by a disability plan or workers’ compensation, though they can agree to top it up where state law allows. § 825.100(a)§ 825.207(a)§ 825.207(d), (e)
On return, the employee generally has a right to the same job or an equivalent one. § 825.214
The employer must keep the employee’s group health coverage on the same terms during the leave. § 825.209(a)

Asking for FMLA Leave

When you can see the leave coming, tell your employer at least 30 days ahead. When you can see it coming but can’t give 30 days’ notice, tell your employer as soon as you practically can, usually the same day or the next business day after you learn of it. When you can’t see it coming, tell your employer as soon as you practically can. For leave for a family member’s military service, tell your employer as soon as practicable, however far ahead you know. § 825.302(a)§ 825.302(a), (b)§ 825.303(a)
An employer may require the employee to follow its usual procedures for requesting leave, absent unusual circumstances. § 825.302(d)
After an employee asks for leave, or once the employer learns the leave may qualify, the employer must say within five business days whether the employee is eligible, barring unusual circumstances. If the employer is covered and the employee isn’t eligible, the eligibility notice must give at least one reason. § 825.300(b)(1)§ 825.300(b)(2)
The employer may ask for a certification supporting the leave. The Labor Department’s forms are optional; an employer may use its own. § 825.305(a)DOL
An employee who disagrees with the employer can file a complaint with the Labor Department or file a lawsuit. § 825.400(a)

If the FMLA Doesn’t Apply

State or local laws that give more family or medical leave still apply. § 825.701(a)
A covered employer must honor any policy that gives more leave than the FMLA. § 825.700(a)
When pregnancy or childbirth limits what a worker can do, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can require an employer with 15 or more employees to make accommodations, and leave can be an accommodation. EEOC
For a worker with a disability, the ADA can require an employer with 15 or more employees to provide leave as an accommodation. EEOC
There’s no federal paid family leave for private-sector workers, but some states have their own paid leave programs. DOL

Federal Employees

Most civilian federal employees are covered by a different part of the law, Title II, which the Office of Personnel Management runs. It also provides a 12-week entitlement. OPM

Eligibility generally requires 12 months of qualifying civilian or military service, or both. Each agency’s human resources office answers questions about coverage and eligibility. OPM

FMLA Eligibility Checker