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An employee’s mental health is affected to a very large extent due to the loss of a close friend or a family member. It is prudent for one to take time off from work during such times. Company policies play a very important role in determining if one can avail bereavement leave or not, and whether or not it will be a paid leave. Below are a legal few questions that have been answered by Experts on bereavement leave. Q. By law, should an organization grant bereavement leave?
Bereavement leave is not a leave that is governed by law, but is a leave that can be availed as per the employment contract or policies of the company. As per the U.S. Department of Labor, one can avail bereavement leave based on the agreement between the organization and its employee. One may not be paid for time off work as per the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which includes attending a funeral. In addition to this, the Department of Labor website states that the "FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons.” Employers may also allow employees to take leave to help a close relative, who is having a medical situation, during child birth and its care and if the employee is unable to attend work due to a serious health issue. Q. Would one be eligible for a paid leave if one’s ex-wife (and mother of his children) passed away?
The Federal or the State law has not made it mandatory to provide leave in such a situation. However, one may refer to an employee handbook, employment contract or check with the union (if any) to verify if bereavement leave is considered to be a paid or unpaid time off. Q. Consider a situation where one’s legal guardian expired and the legal guardian was as close to the employee as a parent. However, the organization did not grant leave as it did not consider this to be a loss of a similar nature to that of a parent. The employee has challenged the organization’s policy and has not been successful. What should the employee do?
It would be at the organization’s discretion to decide on whether or not grant leave in such a situation. Therefore, one has to rely on the company policy to analyze if one is eligible to avail the leave in this circumstance. Q. If one’s grandmother has passed away and the person is entitled to avail three days of bereavement leave, would holidays and weekends become a part of this leave?
An organization’s individual corporate policy decides if one can avail this leave or not. The Federal or the State laws have not made it mandatory for employers to provide bereavement leave. An organization can choose to grant or not grant leave based on its best interest. However, there should be no workplace discrimination on the basis of religion, race, age, gender, disability, FMLA or worker’s compensation; and it is up to the employers to formulate the leave policy that is applicable to everyone in the company. Loss of a loved one is difficult to handle, but ignorance of one’s company policies on bereavement leave would make it even more difficult to handle. When you are unsure of the law and how it applies to you, it is always a good idea to ask an employment lawyer to evaluate the particulars of your case and provide legal insights.
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