Newborn Paperwork Sprint: SSN, Insurance, Leave, and the 30-Day Checklist

  1. Check FMLA eligibility against the DOL tests
    30 min

    FMLA protects a job, it does not pay for leave: up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within 12 months of the birth, with group health benefits continuing on the same terms. Eligibility is decided per parent, per employer, against three Department of Labor tests:

    • Tenure — at least 12 months with that employer (not necessarily consecutive) by the time leave starts;
    • Hours — at least 1,250 hours actually worked for that employer in the 12 months before leave starts;
    • Coverage — a private employer with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks this year or last, and at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.

    Public agencies and elementary or secondary schools are covered regardless of headcount — but each employee still has to pass the tenure and hours tests.