Title 29, LaborRelease 119-110
§2611 Definitions
Title 29 › CHAPTER 28 — FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE › SUBCHAPTER I — GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR LEAVE › § 2611
Summary
Defines key words used in the family and medical leave rules. "Commerce" covers business or activities that affect trade and includes the meanings in section 142 of the law. An "employer" is a person or public agency that has 50 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or previous year; it also includes people acting for the employer, successors, the Government Accountability Office, and the Library of Congress. An "eligible employee" must have worked at least 12 months for the employer and at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. Eligible employee rules do not apply to certain federal officers or to employees at a worksite where the employer has fewer than 50 employees within 75 miles. For airline flight crews, eligibility can be met by working or being paid at least 60 percent of the monthly guarantee and at least 504 hours in the past year; employers must keep a file showing the monthly guarantee. For flight crew guarantees, the guarantee is the minimum monthly hours the employer agrees to schedule or pay, per contract or policy. For GAO employees, the 12-month and hours rules do not apply for some types of leave. Other defined words are summarized briefly: "employment benefits" means benefits like group life, health, disability, leave, education help, and pensions; "health care provider" means a licensed doctor or others the Secretary allows; "parent" means a biological parent or someone who acted like a parent; "son or daughter" includes biological, adopted, foster, stepchildren, legal wards, or a child of someone acting like a parent who is under 18 or is 18+ and unable to care for themselves; "spouse" means husband or wife; "reduced leave schedule" means fewer work hours per week or day; "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor; "serious health condition" means inpatient care or ongoing treatment by a health care provider. Military terms: "covered active duty" means deployment to a foreign country for regular or reserve members called to active duty; a "covered servicemember" is a member or recent veteran (within 5 years) getting treatment or recuperation for a serious injury or illness; "outpatient status" means assigned as an outpatient at a military medical facility or unit; "next of kin" means the nearest blood relative; "serious injury or illness" for service members means a line-of-duty injury or illness that may make them unfit for duty and, for qualifying veterans, a similar injury or illness as defined by the Secretary; "veteran" has the meaning in section 101 of title 38. Terms like "employ," "employee," and "person" have the same meanings as in section 203 of the law.
Full Legal Text
Title 29, §2611
Labor, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
As used in this subchapter:
(1)Commerce
The terms “commerce” and “industry or activity affecting commerce” mean any activity, business, or industry in commerce or in which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce, and include “commerce” and any “industry affecting commerce”, as defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 142 of this title.
(2)Eligible employee
(A)In general
The term “eligible employee” means an employee who has been employed—
(i)for at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under section 2612 of this title; and
(ii)for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12-month period.
(B)Exclusions
The term “eligible employee” does not include—
(i)any Federal officer or employee covered under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5; or
(ii)any employee of an employer who is employed at a worksite at which such employer employs less than 50 employees if the total number of employees employed by that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50.
(C)Determination
For purposes of determining whether an employee meets the hours of service requirement specified in subparagraph (A)(ii), the legal standards established under section 207 of this title shall apply.
(D)Airline flight crews
(i)Determination
For purposes of determining whether an employee who is a flight attendant or flight crewmember (as such terms are defined in regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration) meets the hours of service requirement specified in subparagraph (A)(ii), the employee will be considered to meet the requirement if—
(I)the employee has worked or been paid for not less than 60 percent of the applicable total monthly guarantee, or the equivalent, for the previous 12-month period, for or by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under section 2612 of this title; and
(II)the employee has worked or been paid for not less than 504 hours (not counting personal commute time or time spent on vacation leave or medical or sick leave) during the previous 12-month period, for or by that employer.
(ii)File
Each employer of an employee described in clause (i) shall maintain on file with the Secretary (in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe) containing information specifying the applicable monthly guarantee with respect to each category of employee to which such guarantee applies.
(iii)Definition
In this subparagraph, the term “applicable monthly guarantee” means—
(I)for an employee described in clause (i) other than an employee on reserve status, the minimum number of hours for which an employer has agreed to schedule such employee for any given month; and
(II)for an employee described in clause (i) who is on reserve status, the number of hours for which an employer has agreed to pay such employee on reserve status for any given month,
as established in the applicable collective bargaining agreement or, if none exists, in the employer’s policies.
(E)GAO employees
In the case of an employee of the Government Accountability Office, the requirements of subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect to leave under section 2612(a)(1)(A) or (B) of this title.
(3)Employ; employee; State
The terms “employ”, “employee”, and “State” have the same meanings given such terms in subsections (c), (e), and (g) of section 203 of this title.
(4)Employer
(A)In general
The term “employer”—
(i)means any person engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year;
(ii)includes—
(I)any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer to any of the employees of such employer; and
(II)any successor in interest of an employer;
(iii)includes any “public agency”, as defined in section 203(x) of this title; and
(iv)includes the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress.
(B)Public agency
For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), a public agency shall be considered to be a person engaged in commerce or in an industry or activity affecting commerce.
(5)Employment benefits
The term “employment benefits” means all benefits provided or made available to employees by an employer, including group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits, and pensions, regardless of whether such benefits are provided by a practice or written policy of an employer or through an “employee benefit plan”, as defined in section 1002(3) of this title.
(6)Health care provider
The term “health care provider” means—
(A)a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery (as appropriate) by the State in which the doctor practices; or
(B)any other person determined by the Secretary to be capable of providing health care services.
(7)Parent
The term “parent” means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter.
(8)Person
The term “person” has the same meaning given such term in section 203(a) of this title.
(9)Reduced leave schedule
The term “reduced leave schedule” means a leave schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours per workday, of an employee.
(10)Secretary
The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor.
(11)Serious health condition
The term “serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves—
(A)inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or
(B)continuing treatment by a health care provider.
(12)Son or daughter
The term “son or daughter” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is—
(A)under 18 years of age; or
(B)18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
(13)Spouse
The term “spouse” means a husband or wife, as the case may be.
(14)Covered active duty
The term “covered active duty” means—
(A)in the case of a member of a regular component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country; and
(B)in the case of a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty under a provision of law referred to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10.
(15)Covered servicemember
The term “covered servicemember” means—
(A)a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness; or
(B)a veteran who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, for a serious injury or illness and who was a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) at any time during the period of 5 years preceding the date on which the veteran undergoes that medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy.
(16)Outpatient status
The term “outpatient status”, with respect to a covered servicemember, means the status of a member of the Armed Forces assigned to—
(A)a military medical treatment facility as an outpatient; or
(B)a unit established for the purpose of providing command and control of members of the Armed Forces receiving medical care as outpatients.
(17)Next of kin (18) Serious injury or illness
The term “next of kin”, used with respect to an individual, means the nearest blood relative of that individual.
(19)Veteran
The term “veteran” has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2019—Par. (2)(E). Pub. L. 116–92 added subpar. (E). 2009—Par. (2)(D). Pub. L. 111–119 added subpar. (D). Par. (14). Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(1)(A)(i), added par. (14) and struck out former par. (14). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The term ‘active duty’ means duty under a call or order to active duty under a provision of law referred to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10.” Par. (15). Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(2), amended par. (15) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The term ‘covered servicemember’ means a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.” Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(1)(A)(ii), redesignated par. (16) as (15) and struck out former par. (15). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The term ‘contingency operation’ has the same meaning given such term in section 101(a)(13) of title 10.” Pars. (16), (17). Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(1)(A)(ii), redesignated pars. (17) and (18) as (16) and (17), respectively. Former par. (16) redesignated (15). Par. (18). Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(3), added par. (18) and struck out former par. (18). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The term ‘serious injury or illness’, in the case of a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, means an injury or illness incurred by the member in line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces that may render the member medically unfit to perform the duties of the member’s office, grade, rank, or rating.” Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(1)(A)(ii), redesignated par. (19) as (18). Former par. (18) redesignated (17). Par. (19). Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(3), added par. (19). Pub. L. 111–84, § 565(a)(1)(A)(ii), redesignated par. (19) as (18). 2008—Pars. (14) to (19). Pub. L. 110–181 added pars. (14) to (19). 2004—Par. (4)(A)(iv). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office”. 1995—Par. (4)(A)(iv). Pub. L. 104–1 added cl. (iv).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2019 Amendment Pub. L. 116–92, div. F, title LXXVI, § 7604(c), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2308, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section and section 2612 of this title] shall not be effective with respect to any birth or placement occurring before October 1, 2020.”
Effective Date
of 1995 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–1 effective one year after transmission to Congress of the study under section 1371 of Title 2, The Congress, see section 1312(f)(2) of Title 2. The study required under section 1371 of Title 2, dated Dec. 31, 1996, was transmitted to Congress by the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance on Dec. 30, 1996.
Effective Date
Section effective 6 months after Feb. 5, 1993, except that, in the case of collective bargaining agreements in effect on that
Effective Date
, section applicable on the earlier of (1) the date of termination of such agreement, or (2) the date that occurs 12 months after Feb. 5, 1993, see section 405(b) of Pub. L. 103–3, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title.
Regulations
Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title V, § 565(a)(5), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2311, provided that: “In prescribing
Regulations
to carry out the
Amendments
made by this subsection [amending this section and section 2612 and 2613 of this title], the Secretary of Labor shall consult with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as applicable.” FMLA: Including Military Service in Determining Eligibility Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XI, § 1114(b), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 432, provided that: “(1) In general.—A covered employee who has completed 12 months of service which qualifies as honorable active service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, or Marine Corps of the United States shall be deemed to have met the service requirement in section 101(1)(A) [probably should be 101(2)(A)] of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 [29 U.S.C. 2611(2)(A)], notwithstanding the requirements of such section 101(1)(A). “(2) Covered employee defined.—In this subsection, the term ‘covered employee’—“(A) includes—“(i) any Federal employee eligible for family and medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 [29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.] based on their status as such an employee; “(ii) any Federal employee covered by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 [2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.] eligible for family and medical leave by operation of section 202 of such Act [2 U.S.C. 1312]; “(iii) any Federal employee of the Executive Office of the President eligible for family and medical leave by operation of section 412 of title 3, United States Code; and “(iv) any non-judicial employee of the District of Columbia courts and any employee of the District of Columbia Public Defender Service; and “(B) does not include any member of the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service or the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, [sic]”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
29 U.S.C. § 2611
Title 29, Labor
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110