Specific Rules Regarding Employee Thresholds

The RBA HR Helpline recently received several questions asking at what point an employer no longer has to comply with a law because they've fallen below the employee threshold.  Below are several laws with specific rules regarding employee thresholds:

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Private employers who employ 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks (doesn't have to be consecutive) in either the current or preceding calendar year are obligated to offer FMLA to eligible employees.  Once a private employer meets the 50 employees/20 workweeks threshold, the employer remains covered until it reaches a future point where it no longer has employed 50 employees for 20 (nonconsecutive) workweeks in the current and preceding calendar year. For example, if an employer who met the 50 employees/20 workweeks test in the calendar year as of Sept. 1, 2008, subsequently dropped below 50 employees before the end of 2008 and continued to employ fewer than 50 employees in all workweeks throughout calendar year 2009, the employer would continue to be covered throughout calendar year 2009 because it met the coverage criteria for 20 workweeks of the preceding (i.e., 2008) calendar year.  To read more about counting employees for FMLA purposes, go to  http://tinyurl.com/mypkjc.

EEO-1 Report: With a few exceptions, all private employers with 100 or more employees must file Standard Form 100 (EEO-1) each year by Sept. 30.  However, if on Sept. 30 the company employs fewer than 100 employees and does not participate in a federal government contract or subcontract amounting to $50,000 or more, the company is not required to file the EEO-1 report for that year.  Keep in mind, if the company has an EEO-1 Login ID and Password for the online database, the company must log into the EEO-1 online database, click "Not required to file" and follow the online instructions.  To determine whether or not your company is required to file an EEO-1 report, go to: http://tinyurl.com/ld7mx6.

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA): Generally requires that group health plans sponsored by employers with 20 or more employees in the prior year offer employees and their families the opportunity for a temporary extension of health coverage (called continuation coverage) in certain instances where coverage under the plan would otherwise end.  However, if an employer drops below the threshold, your obligation may end under federal COBRA, but since New York state has its own continuation law, called mini-COBRA, employer responsibility essentially remains the same.  To read more about federal COBRA, go to http://tinyurl.com/4shcf. 

To read more about NYS mini-COBRA, go to http://tinyurl.com/mfs6ee.