Legal Question in Medical Leave in Maryland

Re: Denied family medical leave

check out the language of the law at :

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/statutes/fmla.htm#SEC_101_DEFINITIONS.

�101-2 defines:

ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.--

IN GENERAL.--The term "eligible employee" means ....

EXCLUSIONS.--The term "eligible employee" does not include

.....

any employee of an employer who is employed at a worksite at which such employer employs less than 50 employees if the total number of employees employed by that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50...

SO, the real question is .... the definition of "worksite" .... in principle the idea of the minimium numbers on FMLA is that if an employer is big, it is presumed that it has personnel available or can otherwise figure out how to survive for 12 weeks while any particular employee is out. However, if you're a smaller shop, that can be really hard. the question is how that applies to your particular job ...

under some circumstances it could be argued that an employee who does service calls for example, but takes all assignments from a central location actually "works" from that job site for FMLA purposes... this would be especially true if the employer has lots of other service techs; and even more true if it can and does shift those service techs around among various territories.

on the other hand; if a company hires a lone wolf to be an outpost 2000 miles from the main shop; that person may be hard to replace for 12 weeks and that's what the distance rule is all about.