A "covered" employer refers to all public agencies, including state, local and federal employers, local education agencies (schools), and private-sector employers who employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, including joint employers and successors of covered employers. But not everyone is eligible for this particular benefit. To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must work for an employer that is covered, have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, have worked at least 1,250 hours in those 12 months, and have worked in the United States where the employer has at least 50 employees that are employed by the company and live within a 75 mile radius. The twelve months need not be consecutive months in order to take full benefit of the act. In order for an employer to be "covered" there are restrictions that apply to that particular employer as aforementioned. .
The FMLA provides special rules for determining the eligibility of airline flight crews. Flight crew members. This includes pilots, flight attendants, and other crewmembers. The Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act of 2009 changed the way hours of work are calculated for airline flight crews. As described above, under the FMLA, an eligible employee is a person who has worked at least 12 months for the employer and a minimum of 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the start of FMLA leave. The Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act (AFCTCA) amended the FMLA as it applies to airline flight crews. Under the AFCTCA, a member of an airline flight crew is eligible for FMLA leave if they worked at least 504 hours during the previous 12 month period for the employer and at least 60% of the minimum number of hours that the employee was scheduled to work in any given month or, for an employee who is in "reserve status," at least 60% of the hours that an employee was paid for any given month.