How do we enforce the FMLA 50/75 rule for our organization?

Quick answer

If your organization chooses to enforce the FMLA 50/75 rule, Tilt will turn off automatic FMLA eligibility determinations and auto-designation for parental leave, and your team will need to manually provide Tilt with employee location data on an ongoing basis. This requires a resource listing all employees and whether each is associated with a location satisfying the 50/75 rule, updated weekly or biweekly, plus ad hoc updates whenever employee counts change (new hires, terminations, relocations, or role changes affecting work location). Most Tilt customers ultimately waive this requirement after learning how remote workers factor into the count and the associated legal risks.

Who this applies to / Prerequisites

• Employers who want to enforce the FMLA 50/75 rule to determine FMLA eligibility, rather than relying on Tilt's automatic eligibility determinations
• Requires ongoing data coordination between your team and Tilt — this is not a one-time setup
• Recommended: consult your legal counsel before choosing to enforce this rule, given the complexity and risk involved

Steps

1. Decide whether your organization wants to enforce the 50/75 rule. Consult your legal counsel, since most Tilt customers ultimately waive this requirement after reviewing how remote workers are counted and the associated legal risks.
2. If you choose to enforce it, notify Tilt. Tilt will shut off automatic FMLA eligibility determinations and auto-designation for parental leave on the platform, and this process will be handled manually going forward.
3. Provide Tilt with a resource listing all employees and indicating whether each is associated with a location that satisfies the 50/75 rule. This must be supplied on an ongoing weekly or biweekly cadence.
4. Send Tilt an updated list outside the regular cadence whenever your employee counts change — for example: a new hire, an employee termination, an employee or manager relocation, or an employee taking on a new role with work assignments from a different location.
5. Result: Tilt uses the data your team provides to manually manage FMLA eligibility determinations, rather than relying on the platform's automatic determination process.

What if it doesn't work

• Not sure whether to enforce the 50/75 rule: Most Tilt customers waive this requirement after learning how remote workers are factored into the location counts and the legal risks of strict enforcement. Discuss with your legal counsel before deciding.
• Employee count changes but we missed sending an update: Send Tilt the updated list as soon as the change is identified — don't wait for the next scheduled cadence, since this can affect FMLA compliance.
• Unsure if a specific change (e.g., a manager relocation) affects our employee count: Common triggers include new hires, terminations, employee or manager moves, and role changes involving a different work assignment location. If you're unsure whether a specific scenario applies, send the updated list and flag the change to Tilt.
• If none of these apply, contact your Leave Success Manager or Customer Success Manager for guidance.

Limits and exceptions

• Choosing to enforce the 50/75 rule turns off Tilt's automatic FMLA eligibility determinations and auto-designation for parental leave — this is a manual process from that point forward, not a platform-automated one.
• Tilt requires the employee location resource on an ongoing weekly or biweekly cadence, plus immediate updates whenever employee counts change outside that cadence.
• This article does not provide legal guidance on whether your organization should enforce the 50/75 rule — consult your legal counsel for that determination.
• Most Tilt customers waive this requirement, but the decision is specific to each organization's risk tolerance and legal counsel's guidance.

Related questions

• What is the FMLA 50/75 rule?
• Does Tilt automatically determine FMLA eligibility?
• What happens if we choose to enforce the 50/75 rule?
• How often do we need to send Tilt our employee location data?
• What counts as a change that affects our employee count?
• Should we enforce or waive the 50/75 rule?