Legal Question in Medical Leave in Ohio

Eligibility requirements.

I have a legitimate request for FMLA (daughter diagnosed with brain tumor). I have been denied because I have worked 23 years at a hospital but only part time. My question is: With the requirement for 1250 hours in the past year; are these hours worked or hours paid? I was off last spring for a personal surgery and got paid the entire time with earned sick leave (6 weeks) and also took earned vacation throughout the year. Are these hours (sick and vacation) counted in the 1250 requirement? If so, I have 1238 hours accumulated over the past year. Another question is would paid "on-call" hours be counted towards these 1250 hours? I have 166.5 required and paid for on-call hours over the past year. These are paid on an hourly basis whether called in or not. Thank you for your input. This has been a very stressful time for my family and the denial of family leave has added tremendously to our grief. Job security would be nice to have at this point.


Asked on 2/09/98, 8:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Scapelliti Law Office of Stephen Scapelliti, Esq.

Credited hours for FMLA

The regulations to the Family Medical Leave Act require that an employer credit the employee with the number of hours worked within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), which are the laws which govern minimum wage, overtime pay, and related issues. The FMLA regulations refer to "...actual hours worked...." and so paid time off likely would not be counted. Paid time off is not required under the FLSA, and exist only because of company policy or contract, such as a collective bargaining agreement. The time which is spent at the disposal of the employer, such as on-call time, is counted under the FLSA, and so should be credited for the purposes of the FMLA.

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Answered on 2/11/98, 9:26 am


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