Long story short I'm frustrated. Mental health has been in very bad shape and I was working with a psychiatrist who is going to approve my FMLA leave. I understand full well that this is unpaid time but it guarantees my position and honestly I have the financial means to leave for a few weeks without it being detrimental to paying bills or maintaining my savings and checking account. The price for my mental health treatment is definitely worth it.
I am a remote employee and my understanding of the law is that remote employees would be considered headquartered from the office that they report to. In my case this is the main office in New York City. However, my FMLA leave was denied because my personal residence was not within 50 miles of 75 employees or more.
My company works with a third party contracting HR source so it has been impossible to get any communication from them. I am kind of at a loss of what to do and I am just surprised companies can get away with denying people on a basis that is outside of the law.