(1) To be eligible for any family and medical leave, an employee must be in employment for eight hundred twenty hours during the qualifying period, by an employer with a voluntary plan or an employer utilizing the state family and medical leave plan. An employee qualifies for benefits under an employer’s voluntary plan after the employee works at least three hundred forty hours for the current employer.

(2) An employer with an approved voluntary plan may waive the requirements in subsection (1) of this section, in whole or in part, to allow an employee to be immediately eligible for coverage under the employer’s voluntary plan.

(3) An employee who had coverage under the state plan retains coverage under the state plan until such time as the employee is qualified for coverage under the new employer’s voluntary plan.

(4) An employee who was eligible for benefits under a voluntary plan is immediately eligible for benefits under a new employer’s voluntary plan.