Under FMLA, who is eligible to take leave for a family member's illness?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides specific guidelines for who is eligible to take leave for a family member's illness. Eligibility under FMLA requires that the individual must be an employee of a covered employer, which is defined as a business with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. This criterion is essential because it ensures that the provisions of the FMLA are applicable in a context where the employer has enough resources to manage the impacts of employees taking extended leaves.

Moreover, FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition, among other provisions. Therefore, the presence of a sufficient number of employees is necessary to qualify for the leave protections under this law. Other options, such as being "anyone on the payroll" or "only employees with a contract," do not align with FMLA eligibility requirements, which specifically focus on the size of the employer and the employee's status within that workforce.