The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees who qualify with up to 12 work weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons. It also requires group health benefits to be maintained during the leave as if employees continued to work instead of taking leave. The employer can elect to use the calendar year, a fixed 12-month fiscal year, or a 12-month period prior to or after the commencement of leave as the 12-month period. The Act, which became effective on August 5, 1993, for most employers, is primarily administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Division, Wage and Hour Division.
Eligibility for the Family Medical Leave Act.
To qualify for FMLA benefits, an employee must:
1) work for an employer subject to FMLA rules;
2) have worked for that employer for a total of 12 months;
3) have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months;
4) work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles. This latter stipulation exempts many small business owners from FMLA rules and guidelines.
But while FMLA does not apply to small businesses that employ fewer than 50 people, it does apply to small and mid-size companies that employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more work weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. FMLA also applies to all public agencies, including local, state, and federal employers; large companies; and school administrations.

Kurt A. Scharfenberger