HR Laws by Company Size: 1, 15, 20, 50, 100 Employees

Federal thresholds by headcount

Federal employment laws by number of employees
Employees	Law	What applies	How employees are counted	Source
1+	Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): minimum wage and overtime	Federal minimum wage and overtime pay. Covers most employers: every business with at least $500,000 in yearly sales, plus any employer whose employees do interstate work such as interstate calls, mail or transactions.	No headcount test. Coverage turns on sales volume or on the kind of work each employee does.	DOL: Fact Sheet #14, Coverage Under the FLSA
1+	Employment eligibility verification (Form I-9)	Complete a Form I-9 for every person you hire to work in the United States.	Every employer, from the first hire.	USCIS: I-9 Central
1+	Equal Pay Act (EPA)	Pay men and women equally for equal work.	No minimum. The EEOC says virtually all employers are covered.	EEOC: Coverage of business and private employers
1+	Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)	Reemployment rights and protection from discrimination for employees who serve in the military.	Virtually all U.S. employers, regardless of size.	DOL Employment Law Guide: USERRA
1+	Federal payroll taxes (income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare, FUTA)	Withhold federal income tax and the employee share of Social Security and Medicare, pay the employer share, and pay federal unemployment (FUTA) tax from your own funds.	Starts with your first employee on payroll.	IRS: Understanding employment taxes
1+	PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (break time to pump)	Reasonable break time and a private place, other than a bathroom, for nursing employees to pump breast milk for up to one year after the birth.	Applies under the FLSA. An employer with fewer than 50 employees can be excused only if compliance would cause undue hardship.	DOL: Fact Sheet #73, Break time for nursing employees under the FLSA
1+	Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)	No lie detector tests for job applicants or employees, with narrow exceptions (certain security and pharmaceutical businesses, and some workplace theft investigations).	Most private employers, regardless of size.	DOL: Employee Polygraph Protection Act
4+	Immigration-related anti-discrimination rules (citizenship status and national origin)	No discrimination based on citizenship status or national origin under the federal immigration law.	4 or more employees.	Texas Workforce Commission: Thresholds for coverage under employment-related laws
11+	OSHA injury and illness records (Occupational Safety and Health Act)	Keep OSHA injury and illness records. With 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year you are partially exempt. Every employer, at any size, must still report a work-related death within 8 hours and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours.	Your company's peak employment during the last calendar year.	OSHA: 29 CFR 1904.1, Partial exemption for employers with 10 or fewer employees
15+	Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (discrimination)	No discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and transgender status) or national origin.	15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Part-time employees count.	EEOC Compliance Manual: Section 2, Threshold issues
15+	Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title I	No discrimination against employees or applicants based on disability.	Same test as Title VII: 15 or more employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks, this year or last.	EEOC Compliance Manual: Section 2, Threshold issues
15+	Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)	Reasonable accommodation for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless it causes undue hardship. In effect since June 27, 2023.	15 or more employees.	EEOC: What you should know about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
15+	Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)	No discrimination based on genetic information.	15 or more employees for at least 20 calendar weeks, this year or last.	EEOC: Coverage of business and private employers
20+	Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)	No discrimination against people age 40 and over.	20 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.	EEOC Compliance Manual: Section 2, Threshold issues
20+	COBRA health coverage continuation	Your group health plan must offer employees and their families who lose coverage the chance to continue it for a limited time.	At least 20 employees on more than 50 percent of typical business days in the previous calendar year. Part-time employees count as a fraction of a full-time employee.	DOL EBSA: An Employer's Guide to Group Health Continuation Coverage Under COBRA
50+	Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)	Up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period (26 for military caregiver leave), with group health coverage kept in place.	50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year. Each employee must also qualify: 12 months of service, 1,250 hours, and 50 employees within 75 miles of their worksite.	DOL: Fact Sheet #28, The Family and Medical Leave Act
50+	Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer rules	You become an applicable large employer (ALE). The employer shared responsibility provisions apply, and you file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the IRS each year and give each full-time employee a Form 1095-C.	An average of 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, during the prior year. Full time means 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month.	IRS: Determining if an employer is an applicable large employer
50+	PUMP Act small-employer exemption ends	At 50 or more employees, the undue hardship exemption from the break time and private space rules is no longer available.	All employees count, at every worksite.	DOL: Fact Sheet #73, Break time for nursing employees under the FLSA
100+	EEO-1 Component 1 report	File the yearly EEO-1 workforce data report with the EEOC.	Private employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees that meet certain criteria.	EEOC: EEO data collections
100+	Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)	Give at least 60 calendar days of written notice before a covered plant closing or mass layoff.	100 or more full-time employees (not counting those with under 6 months on the job or under 20 hours a week), or 100 or more employees who together work at least 4,000 hours a week.	DOL ETA: Employer's Guide to Advance Notice of Closings and Layoffs (WARN)

State thresholds that differ

State laws that start at a different size than federal law
State	Employees	Law	What applies	Source
California	1 (harassment), 5 (discrimination)	Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)	Discrimination rules apply at 5 or more employees, not 15. Harassment is banned in every workplace, even with fewer than 5 employees.	California Civil Rights Department: Employment
California	5	California Family Rights Act (CFRA)	Up to 12 workweeks of family and medical leave in a 12-month period, at 5 employees instead of the FMLA's 50. Employees qualify after more than 12 months and 1,250 hours.	California Government Code 12945.2 (CFRA)
California	5	Sexual harassment prevention training	Two hours of training for supervisors and one hour for other employees in California, repeated every two years.	California Government Code 12950.1 (harassment prevention training)
California	15	Pay scale in job postings (Labor Code 432.3)	Include the pay scale for the position in every job posting.	California Labor Code 432.3 (pay scale in job postings)
California	75	California WARN Act	60 days of notice before a mass layoff, termination or relocation at a covered establishment, which kicks in at 75 employees instead of 100.	California EDD: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN)
California	100	Pay data reporting	File a yearly pay data report with the Civil Rights Department. Applies at 100 or more payroll employees, or 100 or more workers hired through labor contractors.	California Civil Rights Department: Pay data reporting
New York	1	New York State Human Rights Law	The law defines "employer" to include all employers within the state, so there is no minimum headcount.	New York Executive Law 292 (Human Rights Law definitions)
New York	1	Paid sick leave (4 or fewer employees)	Up to 40 hours of sick leave a year. It is unpaid, unless the employer had net income over $1 million in the prior tax year, in which case it is paid.	New York State: Paid sick leave
New York	4	Pay transparency (Labor Law 194-B)	Pay ranges in job postings apply to businesses with four or more employees.	New York State DOL: Pay transparency
New York	5	Paid sick leave (5 to 99 employees)	Up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year.	New York State: Paid sick leave
New York	50	New York WARN Act	State layoff notice duties apply at 50 employees (not counting part-time), or 50 employees who together work 2,000 hours a week, instead of the federal 100.	New York Labor Law 860-A (WARN definitions)
New York	100	Paid sick leave (100 or more employees)	Up to 56 hours of paid sick leave a year.	New York State: Paid sick leave
New Jersey	1	New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD)	The law defines "employer" to include all persons, with no minimum headcount.	New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (N.J.S.A. 10:5-5), Division on Civil Rights
New Jersey	10	Pay and benefits transparency	Pay or a pay range, plus a general description of benefits, in job and transfer postings. Counts 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks, inside or outside New Jersey. In effect since June 1, 2025.	NJ Department of Labor: Pay transparency
New Jersey	15	New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA)	Job-protected family leave at 15 or more employees worldwide (lowered from 30 on July 17, 2026). Employees qualify after 3 months and 250 hours worked.	NJ Division on Civil Rights: Family Leave Act FAQ
New Jersey	100	New Jersey WARN Act	At least 90 days of notice before a covered closing or mass layoff (federal: 60), plus mandatory severance of one week of pay per full year of service, and four more weeks if full notice was not given.	NJ WARN Act, N.J.S.A. 34:21-1 et seq. (as amended 2023)
Massachusetts	6	Chapter 151B (anti-discrimination)	Discrimination rules apply at 6 or more employees, not 15. Covered employers must also have a written sexual harassment policy and give every employee a copy.	M.G.L. c. 151B, s. 1 (definition of employer)
Massachusetts	6	Massachusetts Parental Leave Act	8 weeks of job-protected parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child, after 3 months of full-time work.	M.G.L. c. 149, s. 105D (parental leave)
Massachusetts	11	Earned Sick Time law	Every employer must allow up to 40 hours a year of sick time. At 11 or more employees that time must be paid; below 11 it can be unpaid.	Mass. Attorney General: Earned Sick Time
Massachusetts	25	Wage Transparency Act	Pay ranges in job postings, and on request or with a promotion or transfer, at 25 or more employees in Massachusetts (since October 29, 2025).	Mass. Legislature: Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2024
Massachusetts	25	Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) contributions	Employers with 25 or more covered individuals pay the employer share of the PFML contribution. Smaller employers still send in the employee share.	Mass. DFML: Employer contribution rates
Massachusetts	100	Workforce data reporting	Employers with 100 or more employees in Massachusetts that file an EEO-1 report must also file a copy with the Secretary of the Commonwealth by February 1.	Mass. EOLWD: Workforce Data Reporting FAQs
Washington	8	Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD)	Discrimination rules apply at 8 or more employees (religious organizations excluded).	Washington State Human Rights Commission: Employment
Washington	15	Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (pay transparency)	Job postings must include a wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits and other compensation.	Washington L&I: Equal Pay and Opportunities Act
Washington	50	Washington state WARN law	Since July 27, 2025, employers of 50 or more full-time employees must give 60 days of written notice before a business closing or mass layoff.	Washington Legislature: Final bill report, ESSB 5525 (2025)
Colorado	1	Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA)	Employers in Colorado may not discriminate based on a protected class, which in Colorado includes marital status and age 40 and over. The law sets no minimum headcount.	Colorado Civil Rights Division: Discrimination
Colorado	10	Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) employer premium	Employers with 10 or more employees pay the employer share of the FAMLI premium. Smaller employers still withhold and send in the employee share every quarter.	Colorado FAMLI: Small business corner
Illinois	1	Illinois Human Rights Act	Most discrimination claims apply once you have 1 employee in each of 20 or more calendar weeks this year or last. Sexual harassment and pregnancy rules cover every employer.	Illinois Department of Human Rights: Employment rights
Illinois	15	Equal Pay Act salary transparency	Pay scale and benefits in job postings for work done at least partly in Illinois, since January 1, 2025. Employees inside and outside Illinois, part-time and full-time, all count.	Illinois Department of Labor: Equal Pay Act and job postings (January 2025)
Illinois	75	Illinois WARN Act	60 days of notice before a plant closing or mass layoff, at 75 or more full-time employees instead of 100.	Illinois DCEO: WARN
Florida	4	Workers' compensation insurance	Coverage is required at 4 or more employees for most private employers. Construction employers need it from 1 employee.	Florida Statutes 440.02 (workers' compensation definitions)
Florida	15	Florida Civil Rights Act	State discrimination rules use the same 15-employee, 20-week test as Title VII, so a Florida employer below 15 is outside both.	Florida Statutes 760.02 (Florida Civil Rights Act definitions)
Florida	25	E-Verify for private employers	Since July 1, 2023, private employers with 25 or more employees must run every new hire through E-Verify within 3 business days after employment begins.	Florida Statutes 448.095 (E-Verify)
Georgia	3	Workers' compensation insurance	Required once you regularly employ 3 or more people. Regular part-time employees count, and corporate officers and LLC members count even if they opt out of coverage.	Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation: Insurance FAQs
Georgia	15 (state agencies only)	Georgia Fair Employment Practices Act	Covers employment by Georgia state government agencies with 15 or more employees. Private employers are not covered by it, so they follow the federal thresholds.	Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity: Fair Employment Practices Act notice
Texas	1 (harassment), 15 (discrimination)	Texas Labor Code chapter 21	State discrimination rules start at 15 employees, matching Title VII, but the sexual harassment rules cover employers with one or more employees.	Texas Workforce Commission: Thresholds for coverage under employment-related laws
Texas	Optional	Workers' compensation insurance	Most private employers may choose not to carry it. Employers without coverage must tell the state and report work injuries with more than one day of lost time, illnesses and deaths.	Texas Department of Insurance: Workers' compensation for employers

How employees are counted

Each law has its own counting rule, so the same team can be "15 employees" under one law and "12" under another. The most common tests:

Federal counting rules
Law	How the headcount works
Title VII, ADA, GINA (15) and ADEA (20)	Count everyone on payroll for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks, this year or last. The weeks do not have to be consecutive. Someone who works only Mondays counts for the whole week. Add temporary or staffing agency workers you also employ.
FMLA (50)	Employer test: 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks this year or last. Eligibility test, per employee: 12 months of service, 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, and 50 employees within 75 miles of their worksite.
COBRA (20)	Look back at the previous calendar year: 20 or more employees on more than half of typical business days. A part-time employee counts as a fraction (20 hours a week out of 40 counts as one half).
ACA (50)	Average the prior year. Full-time is 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month. Add part-time hours each month (up to 120 per person), divide by 120 to get full-time equivalents, then average the year.
WARN (100)	Leave out part-time workers (under 20 hours a week or under 6 months on the job), or use the other test: 100 or more employees working a combined 4,000 hours a week.
OSHA records (11)	Use your peak employment during the last calendar year.

Several of these tests look back at the previous calendar year (COBRA, ACA, OSHA records), so check your numbers each January. A spring hiring push can change what applies next year, not just today.

State laws often start at a smaller size

Federal thresholds are the floor. In several states the same kind of rule starts much earlier: discrimination rules with as few as 1 employee in New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Illinois, at 5 employees in California and at 8 in Washington. California family leave starts at 5 employees and New Jersey family leave at 15, long before the FMLA at 50. State layoff notice laws start at 50 (New York, Washington) or 75 (California, Illinois).

Before you rely on "we are under 15" or "we are under 50", check every state where you have someone working. The state pages cover the details for California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Florida, Georgia and Texas.

Contractors and remote employees

Independent contractors do not count toward the federal anti-discrimination thresholds, as long as they really are contractors. If a "contractor" is legally an employee, they count, and the misclassification is its own problem. See contractor vs. employee.
Remote employees count. State laws generally follow the place where the work is done, so one remote hire in a new state can bring that state's rules with them. See hiring employees in another state.
Some state laws count your whole company, not just the people in that state. Illinois pay transparency counts employees inside and outside Illinois. New Jersey pay transparency counts employees inside or outside New Jersey, and the New Jersey Family Leave Act counts employees worldwide.
Owners can count too. In Georgia, corporate officers and LLC members count toward the 3-employee workers' compensation threshold.

What to set up as you cross each line

From your first hire: a Form I-9 for each new employee, payroll tax withholding, and minimum wage and overtime tracking. See how to hire your first employee.
15 employees: federal discrimination and accommodation rules now apply, so it is a good time to write down your anti-harassment policy and how people ask for disability and pregnancy accommodations. An employee handbook is the usual home for both.
20 employees: COBRA notices for anyone who loses health coverage. See when you need to offer COBRA.
50 employees: an FMLA process and notices (see how to handle an FMLA request), and an ACA plan for offering coverage to full-time employees with yearly 1094-C and 1095-C filings (see do small businesses have to offer health insurance).
100 employees: the yearly EEO-1 report, and WARN planning before any large layoff. See WARN Act layoffs.

Common questions

At what size do you need to offer FMLA leave?

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies once you have 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year. An employee also needs 12 months of service, 1,250 hours in the past year and 50 employees within 75 miles of their worksite. State laws can apply sooner: California at 5 employees and New Jersey at 15.

When do you have to file an EEO-1 report?

Private employers with 100 or more employees file the EEO-1 Component 1 report with the EEOC every year. Federal contractors with 50 or more employees that meet certain criteria file too.

Do part-time employees count toward these thresholds?

Usually yes. For Title VII, the ADA and the ADEA, anyone on payroll counts for the whole week regardless of schedule, COBRA counts part-time employees as a fraction, and the ACA turns part-time hours into full-time equivalents. Federal WARN is the main exception: its 100-employee test leaves out part-time workers.

When does COBRA apply to a small business?

Federal COBRA applies to group health plans of employers that had at least 20 employees on more than half of their typical business days in the previous calendar year. Part-time employees count as a fraction of a full-time employee.

Do independent contractors count as employees for these laws?

No, not if they are correctly classified. The EEOC excludes independent contractors when counting employees, but a worker who is legally an employee counts no matter what the contract says.

How MambaHR handles this

MambaHR keeps your employee records and answers federal and state employment-law questions with the law cited, so you can ask which of these rules apply to your team right now. It checks federal FMLA eligibility on leave requests, prepares COBRA continuation notices at offboarding, and plans reductions in force with legal checks, while a person makes the decisions that matter.

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Sources

Last reviewed October 2, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and exceptions apply, so check the sources above or an employment lawyer before you act on a specific case.