The easiest part of handling a Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) situation is determining at the outset whether the employee
is eligible for FMLA protections, right? Not so fast. Recent cases
have added the seemingly simple eligibility determination to the
rotisserie of FMLA issues on which employees may baste
employers.
An employee is eligible for FMLA protections if: 1) she
has been employed with a particular employer for at least 12
months; and 2) has worked at least 1,250 hours for that employer in
the previous 12 months. It may appear to be a straightforward
analysis, but like all things "FMLA," even the
determination of eligibility has some traps for the unwary.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
(covering Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas)
surprised an employer in a recent case in which the employee raised
and won FMLA claims. She began working for the employer on November
17, 2008, as a caretaker at one of its
