Upper Peninsula Metallic Mining Employee Benefits in Michigan
Metallic mining sites in the Upper Peninsula are far from town, far from each other and often staffed on schedules that do not look like a standard work week. That affects who qualifies for health coverage, who qualifies for federal leave, and how hours get counted.
This page covers the federal rules that matter most to a remote mine: how full-time status is measured, how the FMLA 75-mile worksite rule applies when sites are isolated, and what happens to coverage when operations pause. We read each rule at its source; the cites are at the bottom of the page.
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Who Counts as Full-Time at a Remote Site
The federal definition of a full-time employee is about hours, not job titles or camp rosters.
The 30-hour test. Under 26 CFR 54.4980H-1(a)(21), a full-time employee is one employed an average of at least 30 hours of service per week. The same paragraph treats 130 hours of service in a calendar month as the monthly equivalent. That monthly figure applies to the monthly measurement method; it is not the test under the look-back method described below.
What counts as an hour. An hour of service is each hour for which an employee is paid, or entitled to payment, for performing duties. It also includes paid hours when no duties are performed because of vacation, holiday, illness, incapacity, layoff, jury duty, military duty or a leave of absence. For a crew on a long rotation, paid time off during the rotation still counts toward the average.
Plan eligibility is a separate choice. The law sets who must be offered coverage to avoid a penalty. The plan can set a different, often more generous, eligibility rule. Our waiting period guide explains how to set the rule, and our worker classification guide covers who is an employee in the first place, which matters for the contractors and seasonal help common on a mine site.
The FMLA 75-Mile Rule at an Isolated Mine
FMLA eligibility depends on where an employee works, and an isolated site can fall short of the headcount even when the company overall is large.
The three conditions. Under 29 CFR 825.110(a), an eligible employee has been employed for at least 12 months, has at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before leave starts, and works where 50 or more employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles of the worksite.
How the distance is measured. Under 29 CFR 825.111(b), the 75 miles are surface miles, measured over public streets, roads, highways and waterways by the shortest route from the facility where the employee is employed. Only where no surface transportation connects the sites does the rule use the most frequently used mode of transportation, such as airline miles. A straight line on a map is not the test, which matters in a region where the road network is sparse.
Separate buildings. Under 825.111(a)(1), separate buildings or areas that are not directly connected can be a single worksite if they are in reasonable geographic proximity, used for the same purpose and share the same staff and equipment. A mine and its mill or office complex can fit that description. Whether they do is a facts question.
Employees with no fixed worksite. Under 825.111(a)(2), where an employee has no fixed worksite, the worksite is the site assigned as the home base, from which work is assigned, or to which the employee reports. We map each job to its home base before anyone relies on the 50-employee count.
Notices and certification run on fixed clocks once leave is requested. See our FMLA notices and medical certification guide. State leave laws are separate from the FMLA; our state paid family and medical leave guide covers them.
Measuring Variable and Rotating Schedules
When hours swing between heavy rotations and long breaks, the look-back method gives a steadier answer than month-by-month counting.
Under 26 CFR 54.4980H-3(d), an employer can measure a new variable-hour employee over an initial measurement period of three to 12 months. An administrative period of up to 90 days can follow. An employee averaging 30 hours a week or more is then treated as full-time for a stability period of at least six months, whatever the hours turn out to be during that window.
A break in service of 13 weeks or more can reset the clock for a returning employee. Employers who rehire for the next production cycle should track dates carefully. Our variable-hour look-back guide walks through the method.
The penalty stakes. Under 26 CFR 54.4980H-4(a), an employer that does not offer coverage to all but five percent (or, if greater, five) of its full-time employees risks the employer mandate penalty. See our employer mandate penalty guide. Where a workforce is partly union, our unionized and mixed workforce guide is the closest parallel.
Shutdowns, Layoffs and Continuation Coverage
A pause in production raises the same question every time: does the coverage stop, and for how long can people keep it?
Michigan has no state mini-COBRA law, so continuation rights at a smaller employer come from the plan terms and the federal rules rather than a state statute. Our state continuation guide explains the gap, and our COBRA continuation guide covers the federal rules.
Pre-tax premiums run through a section 125 plan, and its election rules constrain mid-year changes. See our HSA, FSA and section 125 guide. For seasonal or temporary stoppages, our seasonal layoffs guide applies the same logic to another outdoor industry.
Rules and Guides Behind This Page
These companion guides explain the rules behind the sections above for mine operators.
Variable-Hour Employee Look-Back Method
Measurement, administrative and stability periods for uneven schedules.
Employer Mandate Penalty
What triggers the penalty and how the offer threshold works.
FMLA Notices and Medical Certification
The notice and certification steps once an employee asks for leave.
29 CFR 825.110, Eligible Employee · 29 CFR 825.111, Determining Whether 50 Employees Are Employed Within 75 Miles · 26 CFR 54.4980H-3, Determining Full-Time Employees · 26 CFR 54.4980H-1, Definitions · 26 CFR 54.4980H-4, Assessable Payments
Talk Through Your Mine Site Workforce
Bring your site list, rotation schedules and headcount by location. We will check full-time status and leave eligibility against the rules above.
Related pages.
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
The sector hub for extraction employers.
Michigan Mini-COBRA
Why Michigan has no state continuation law.
COBRA Continuation Coverage Law
The federal continuation rules.
State Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws
How state leave laws sit beside the FMLA.
HSA, FSA and Section 125 Limits
Election rules and limits for pre-tax benefits.
Group Health Insurance Waiting Period
Setting the rule for new hires.
Questions that come up.
Quick answers to what mine operators ask us most often, each with a link to the longer page.
Does the FMLA 75-mile rule use straight-line distance?
No. The FMLA 75-mile test uses surface miles measured by the shortest route over public roads, with other transport considered only where no surface route exists. That matters in the Upper Peninsula, where a straight line across a bay or the lake can look short while the drive is long. Mine employers should measure by road when deciding which sites count toward the employee threshold.
How are hours measured for rotating crews?
For crews on rotating shifts, average the hours over a measurement period of three to twelve months and compare the result with the 30-hour weekly threshold. Underground and surface crews on long hitches, with overtime and travel time, often exceed it by a wide margin. We set the method in writing, apply it to every rotation group, and match the plan’s stability period to it.
What happens to coverage when operations pause?
It depends on the plan terms, the hours history and COBRA. Michigan has no state mini-COBRA, so a mine idled for maintenance or a market pause relies on the employer’s own policy and federal continuation rights. Some employers keep paying the premium share for a defined period. We help set a written rule for suspended operations and explain COBRA to affected crews.
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