Texas court rules on remote employees and the FMLA

Recall that Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) eligibility turns on not only the length of employment (12 months/1,250 hours) but also the number of employees within a certain geographic location (employment at a worksite at which the employer employs 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius).

But what about remote employees physically located far from any company location with 50 or more employees? Are they always aced out of FMLA coverage, or is there a legal loophole to get them coverage? A famous Texas trial lawyer once purportedly stated, “There are no loopholes in the law; the law is the law!” So let’s talk the law.

‘Do I have to draw you a map?’

This is a question my mother often asked me. And to find the answer to the question about remote worker coverage, sketching out a map is helpful.

Vanessa Landgrave worked for ForTec Medical out of her home in Hewitt. Her boss, Alvin Cooper, worked out of his home in Paige. And the HR manager, Nancy Pearson, worked out of ForTec’s headquarters in Hudson, Ohio.

What did Landgrave do for the company? Orders come into HQ from hospitals around the United States for specialized surgical equipment. These orders are processed through ForSite, a company app, and are sent out to the relevant territories for assignment to a tech, such as Landgrave. The techs drive to a warehouse, load up the requested equipment, and then go to the hospital and assist the medical team in its use.

Landgrave’s mother needs surgery