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.
(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.
