Hello,

Our hospital is changing its hours of full time employees. Instead of being full time at 60 or 64 hours you now have to be 72 hours in a pay period. With the increase in hours there will be different levels of benefit eligibility. In our department there is not enough hours for everyone to increase to 72 hrs. Our boss has said he will decide who gets to increase their hours based on four different criteria. They include seniority, skill level, dependibility and attitude, and need for the increased benefits. I wondered if this is legal for him to decide based on need, such a subjective thing. Does anyone out there know the legalities involved in this. The age group in the dept. varies from 32 to 52, some are the insurance carriers for the family, and some want to be "full time" to get the fmla.
Thanks,
Melissa

There is nothing in FMLA that requires you to be classified as a "full time employee" by your employer. You must meet the criteria of the Act itself as an "eligible employee." The criteria is that you must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months (not consecutive months) and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period. Therefore someone who has worked 25 hours per week during the prior 12 month period for the employer would be eligible for the protection of the unpaid Family Medical Leave Act.