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The policies on funeral leave differ from one company to the other. However, for an individual, it is very important to be at the funeral of a loved one. Below are a few questions that have been answered regarding funeral leave: Q. Per the Federal Law, is funeral leave a mandatory leave?
As per the Federal Law bereavement or funeral leave is not a mandatory leave that is offered. However, policies of individual companies decide if one can avail bereavement or funeral leave. Q. Does one need to pay an employee for the funeral leave or can it be reduced from the sick/personal/vacation time balance?
As funeral leave is not a compulsory leave that needs to be granted to an employee; it would depend on how the company would treat such a leave. If there is no policy that has been formulated specifically regarding this leave, then it can be considered as a personal day off. In the event that there is a policy regarding bereavement or funeral leave, then the benefit should be extended to the employee. Q. As per law, can an employer terminate an employee for the following reason (excessive absenteeism): the number of employees in a company is less than 50. Due to the death of the father and due to the sickness of the children, an employee took 4 full days (8 hours each) and approximately 10 days (less than 4 hours each) off?
If an employer discriminates based on leave availed for the funeral of a relative or on family status; some states will not tolerate this. If one were to reduce the funeral leaves availed from the total absent days; it may be a possibility that there may be other employees who have exceeded the number of leaves availed by this person. In such an event, one may file a petition with the State labor board for discrimination and violation of the law. One may contact a local employment lawyer who consults for free and who takes on contingency fee cases. Due to the termination being unjust, one may also claim unemployment benefits. Q. If an employee goes on funeral leave due to the death of his/her grandmother; is the employer required to pay the employee for funeral leave?
The company policy and terms determine whether one can be paid for bereavement or funeral leave as it is not a mandatory leave as per federal law. If it is mentioned in the company policy, the employer would need to pay for the leave. Hence, one should thoroughly go through the policy handbook to verify this. If there is no mention of this leave in the policy handbook; one may verify regarding this with the HR. Q. Consider a situation where an employee’s grandmother passed away and the employee texted the employer for 3 days of paid leave. As there was no company policy to pay for funeral leave, the employee was not paid. This was not appreciated by the employee. Is the employer responsible as per law to pay for the leave?
The employer is not responsible to pay the employee, as per law, for the funeral leave. Each company has its own leave policy and it may vary from one company to the other. Even the Family and Medical Leave Act caters only to care for immediate family members who suffer from serious medical problems. It is heart breaking for one to lose someone who is very close and dear. To add to it, if one misunderstands the leave policy; it can lead to more problems at the workplace. You may speak to an employment lawyer and clear any doubts that you may have about funeral leave laws.
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