FMLA eligibility calculator: 12 months, 1,250 hours, 50 within 75 miles.

Two separate tests: is the employer covered, and are you eligible?

FMLA protection needs two things at once. The employer must be covered, and the individual must be an eligible employee. A private employer is covered if it employs 50 or more employees for each working day of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Public agencies and elementary and secondary schools are covered whatever their size. This calculator tests the second question, the employee's eligibility, because that is where most people get stuck. The tool shows the coverage rule for your employer type under the result.

The three employee tests in 29 CFR 825.110

12 months of employment. The 12 months do not have to be consecutive. Employment before a break in service of seven years or more generally does not count, with exceptions for military service obligations and for a written rehire agreement. A week counts as a week of employment if the employee was on the payroll for any part of it, and for intermittent or casual work, 52 weeks is deemed to equal 12 months. The tool uses the straightforward case: it compares your start date plus one year with the leave start date.

1,250 hours of service. This is measured over the 12 months immediately before the leave begins, using the principles for counting hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 CFR part 785). The regulation says the determining factor is the number of hours actually worked, and it is not limited by recordkeeping methods. If an employer has no accurate record of hours, including for exempt employees, the employer bears the burden of showing the employee did not work 1,250 hours.

50 employees within 75 miles. The worksite must have 50 or more employees employed by the employer within 75 miles. Distance is measured in surface miles over public roads by the shortest route, and the count is of employees maintained on the payroll. The count is taken when the employee gives notice of the need for leave and, once the employee is found eligible for that notice, a later drop in headcount does not undo it.

Worked examples

The part-timer who misses by two hours. A part-time employee scheduled for 24 hours a week works every week for a year. That is 24 × 52 = 1,248 hours, two short of 1,250. To reach 1,250 across 52 weeks an employee needs about 24.04 hours a week on average, so a steady 24-hour schedule falls just under the line, while 25 hours a week (1,300 a year) clears it. These figures are hypothetical.

The remote employee at a small hub. A company has 300 employees nationally. Aisha, hired on March 3, 2025, works from a regional office that reports 22 employees within 75 miles. On a leave start of April 6, 2026, she has more than 12 months and, say, 1,420 hours, but the headcount test fails at 22, so she is not an eligible employee even though the company is large. Home offices do not change this, because the regulation treats the office an employee reports to or is assigned work from as the worksite, not a personal residence.

Hired recently, mid-leave eligibility. Eligibility is determined as of the date the leave is to start, but an employee may be on non-FMLA leave when the 12-month mark passes. Any part of the leave taken for a qualifying reason after the employee becomes eligible counts as FMLA leave.

Common mistakes

• Using company-wide headcount for the 50 test instead of the 50 within 75 miles of the employee's worksite.
• Counting calendar months loosely. The tool checks start date plus one year, and the regulation allows the 52-weeks-equal-12-months rule for irregular work.
• Counting scheduled hours instead of hours actually worked. Missing 1,250 by a few hours is a common reason an otherwise eligible part-timer is not.
• Treating the employer-coverage test and the employee-eligibility test as one.
• Forgetting that a state may have its own leave law with different thresholds. Federal ineligibility does not rule that out.

Who this is for and what it does not cover

Employees weighing a leave request and HR staff handling one can both use it. It does not tell you whether your reason qualifies, how to give notice, how much leave you have left (use the rolling leave balance page for that), whether you are a key employee, or what special hours-of-service rules apply to airline flight crew. It does not provide medical or legal advice. Dates and hours you enter stay in your browser.

Sources

• eCFR: 29 CFR 825.110, Eligible employee — 12 months, 1,250 hours, 50 within 75 miles; break in service; measurement dates
• eCFR: 29 CFR 825.111, Determining whether 50 employees are employed within 75 miles — worksite, surface-mile measure, payroll count
• eCFR: 29 CFR 825.104, Covered employer — 50 employees for 20 or more workweeks; public agencies and schools
• eCFR: 29 CFR 825.108, Public agency coverage — public agencies covered regardless of size but employees must meet all eligibility tests
• eCFR: 29 CFR 825.600, Special rules for schools — 75-mile test still applies to school employees

Every figure and rule above was retrieved from these pages in October 2026. Agencies revise forms, codes and percentages, so confirm anything that affects a claim, a filing or a deadline against the current official page.

Frequently asked questions

What are the FMLA eligibility requirements?

Under 29 CFR 825.110 an eligible employee has worked for the employer for at least 12 months, has at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before the leave starts, and works at a site where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. All three must be true.

Do the 12 months of employment have to be consecutive?

No. The 12 months need not be consecutive, although employment before a break in service of seven years or more generally need not be counted, with exceptions for military service and for written rehire agreements. For irregular work, 52 weeks is deemed to equal 12 months.

How many hours a week must a part-time employee work for FMLA?

The test is 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before the leave, which averages about 24.04 hours a week over 52 weeks. A steady 24-hour week gives 1,248 hours, just under the line.

Does the 50 employees rule mean the whole company?

No. The 50 employees must be employed by the employer at the worksite or within 75 miles of it. A company with thousands of employees elsewhere can still leave an employee ineligible at a small, isolated site.

How is the 75 miles measured?

By surface miles, using public streets, roads, highways and waterways by the shortest route from the facility where the employee needing leave works. If there is no available surface transportation between sites, the most frequently used mode, such as airline miles, is used.

Does working from home change my worksite?

Generally not. An employee's personal residence is not a worksite for employees who work at home or travel a sales territory. The worksite is the office they report to or from which their assignments are made.

When is eligibility measured?

The 12 months and the 1,250 hours are determined as of the date the leave is to start. The 50 employees within 75 miles is determined when the employee gives notice of the need for leave, and a later drop in headcount does not end an already-approved leave.

Do public employers need 50 employees to be covered?

No. Public agencies and elementary and secondary schools are covered regardless of size. But their employees must still meet all three eligibility tests, including 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.