FMLA for Remote Employees: What Changed and What Stayed the Same

The rise of remote work created new complexity for FMLA administration. Questions that were straightforward for office-based employees became complicated for employees working from home. Where is a remote employee’s worksite? Which state law applies? How do notice requirements work when there is no physical workplace?

Most of the core FMLA rules apply to remote employees exactly as they apply to everyone else. However, several specific areas require careful attention. Here is what HR teams need to know.

The 50-employee within 75 miles rule for remote workers

One of the most consequential FMLA eligibility requirements is the worksite rule. An employee must work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. This rule creates a threshold question for remote employees — what is their worksite?

The DOL has addressed this question directly. For remote employees, the worksite is the location to which they report or from which their work is assigned. In most cases this means the office or facility that manages the remote employee — not the employee’s home.

This interpretation has significant practical implications. A remote employee assigned to a regional office with 60 employees is eligible under the worksite rule even if they live 200 miles away. A remote employee assigned to a small satellite office with 10 employees may not be eligible even if the employer has thousands of employees nationally.

Review your remote employees’ assignments carefully. Identify which office manages each remote employee and how many employees work within 75 miles of that office. This analysis determines eligibility for each remote worker.

The 1,250 hours requirement for remote employees

The 1,250 hours worked requirement applies to remote employees exactly as it applies to office-based employees. Only actual hours worked count. Paid time off, holidays, and other leave do not count toward the threshold.

Tracking hours for remote employees can be more complex than for office-based employees. Some remote employees are salaried exempt workers whose hours are not tracked precisely. When an employee’s time records are unclear or incomplete, the DOL presumes the employee meets the 1,250-hour threshold. Accurate timekeeping protects you more than it protects the employee.

Which state’s leave laws apply to remote employees

Federal FMLA applies uniformly across the country. State leave laws are more complex for remote employees.

Generally the leave laws of the state where the employee performs their work govern their state leave rights. A remote employee working from their home in California is covered by California’s leave laws — including CFRA — even if their employer is headquartered in Texas.

This creates significant compliance obligations for employers with remote employees spread across multiple states. An employer with remote workers in California, New York, and Washington must comply with the leave laws of all three states for those employees. The employer’s home state law is not sufficient.

Notice requirements for remote employees

The general FMLA notice requirements apply to remote employees. However, the practical implementation looks different when there is no physical workplace.

Remote employees must still receive the FMLA rights poster information. Employers can satisfy this requirement by posting the information on an internal employee portal or intranet that all employees can access. Emailing the notice to all employees also satisfies the requirement.

The eligibility notice, rights and responsibilities notice, and designation notice must all be provided within the same timeframes that apply to office-based employees. Delivering these notices electronically is permissible as long as the employee can access and print them.

For unforeseeable leave, remote employees must follow the employer’s normal call-in procedures just like office-based employees. The absence of a physical workplace does not change the notice obligation.

Intermittent leave for remote employees

Intermittent FMLA leave for remote employees presents unique administrative challenges. When an office-based employee takes a few hours of intermittent leave, the absence is visible. When a remote employee takes a few hours of intermittent leave, the absence may be harder to track.

Clear expectations and call-in procedures for remote employees on intermittent leave are essential. Remote employees should be required to notify their manager and HR when they are taking intermittent FMLA leave, just as office-based employees would notify a supervisor before leaving the building.

Tracking intermittent leave for remote employees requires the same level of documentation as for office-based employees. Date, duration, and reason must be recorded for every instance. A purpose-built tracking tool handles this documentation automatically regardless of where the employee works.

Return to work for remote employees

When a remote employee returns from FMLA leave they are entitled to be restored to the same or an equivalent position. For remote employees this means the same remote arrangement they had before the leave — not a requirement to return to an office if they were fully remote before.

However, if the employer implemented a new remote work policy during the employee’s leave that applies to all similarly situated employees, the returning employee is subject to the same new policy. FMLA does not freeze the employee’s working conditions at the moment leave began.

Fitness for duty certifications apply to remote employees on the same basis as office-based employees. If your policy requires a fitness for duty certification before returning from leave, that requirement applies regardless of where the employee works.

Managing FMLA across a distributed workforce

Managing FMLA for a distributed remote workforce requires systems that work regardless of location. Paper-based processes that depend on physical proximity break down quickly when employees and managers are in different cities or states.

A purpose-built tracking tool that operates in the cloud or in a shared environment lets HR teams manage leave consistently across all locations. Every notice, every certification, and every designation is stored in one place and accessible to everyone who needs it.

FMLAPro Tracker Pro manages FMLA tracking for distributed workforces inside Microsoft Excel. It works for remote, hybrid, and office-based employees using the same consistent process. Visit our store to learn more or contact us with any questions about managing FMLA for your remote workforce.