Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act — employer coverage threshold
The Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (WFMLA) applies to any employer engaging in any activity, enterprise, or business in Wisconsin that employs at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis. The definition includes both private-sector employers and the state itself—any office, department, independent agency, authority, institution, association, society, or other body in state government created or authorized by the constitution or any law, including the legislature and the courts.
Source: Wis. Stat. § 103.10(1)(c)
Wisconsin FMLA — qualifying reasons and leave durations
The Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act provides family leave for three reasons: (1) the birth of the employee's natural child, if leave begins within 16 weeks of birth (up to 6 weeks); (2) the placement of a child with the employee for adoption (up to 6 weeks); and (3) to care for the employee's child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent who has a serious health condition (up to 2 weeks). In any 12-month period, an employee may take no more than 6 weeks of leave under reasons (1) and (2) combined, no more than 2 weeks under reason (3), and no more than 8 weeks total for any combination of the three.
The Act also provides medical leave of up to 2 weeks in a 12-month period for an employee who has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform employment duties.
Wisconsin FMLA — employee eligibility requirements
Under the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act, an employee is eligible for leave protections only if the employee satisfies two distinct requirements: a tenure threshold and an hours-worked threshold, both measured as of the first day of requested leave.
Tenure requirement: The employee must have been employed by the same employer for more than 52 consecutive weeks. Wis. Stat. § 103.10(2)(c) requires that the 52 weeks be consecutive—a break in employment restarts the clock. The consecutive-weeks test looks backward from the date leave would begin; prior service separated by a gap does not count toward the 52-week minimum.
Hours-worked requirement: During the 52-week period immediately preceding the employee's leave request, the employee must have worked for the employer at least 1,000 hours. The statute measures hours worked during "the preceding 52-week period" (a rolling 52-week look-back, not a calendar year). The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's published guidance states that paid leave time used during the look-back period counts toward the 1,000-hour threshold, meaning an employee on paid vacation or paid sick leave can count those hours. The statute itself does not define whether "worked" includes paid time off; the DWD interpretation treats it as inclusive.
Both requirements must be satisfied on the date leave begins. An employee who has worked 52 consecutive weeks but only 900 hours does not qualify; likewise, an employee who has worked 1,200 hours over 18 months separated by a two-month gap in employment does not satisfy the consecutive-weeks test.
Employer coverage threshold: Even if an employee meets both individual thresholds, WFMLA protections apply only when the employer itself is covered. Under Wis. Stat. § 103.10(1)(c), an employer is covered if it employed at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis. If the employer drops below 50 employees and remains there, employees lose WFMLA eligibility even if they individually meet the tenure and hours tests.
Federal FMLA comparison: Federal FMLA eligibility requires 12 months of employment (which need not be consecutive) and 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months before leave. Because Wisconsin requires consecutive weeks and a lower hour threshold (1,000 vs. 1,250), some employees will qualify under Wisconsin law but not federal law, and vice versa. When an employee qualifies under both statutes, the two leave entitlements run concurrently, and the employee is entitled to whichever law provides more favorable treatment on each particular term (for example, WFMLA covers domestic partners and parents-in-law; federal FMLA does not).
Source: Wis. Stat. § 103.10(2)(c), (1)(c) Source: Wisconsin DWD FMLA FAQ