Bereavement leave is time off granted by an employer to an employee following the death of a loved one. Since no federal law mandates this benefit, there is no universal answer to how many times it can be used. The duration and frequency of the leave depend entirely on the specific policy established by the individual company. Understanding this organizational policy structure is the primary factor in determining how often an employee can take time away from work.
The Legal Landscape of Bereavement Leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the primary federal law governing protected employee leave, does not include general bereavement as a qualifying event for job-protected time off. This means that for the majority of U.S. workers, there is no minimum usage frequency or duration guaranteed by federal statute. However, a few states and certain localities have begun to implement mandatory bereavement leave requirements. States like Illinois and Oregon, for instance, require eligible employers to provide a minimum amount of unpaid leave following a covered death. These state-level mandates ensure a baseline level of protection that supersedes a company’s voluntary policy.
Understanding Standard Company Bereavement Policies
Employer-provided bereavement policies dictate the terms of eligibility and the duration of time off, typically structured in a tiered system based on the deceased’s relationship to the employee. The most generous allowance is generally reserved for the death of an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent, or sibling), often providing three to five days of paid leave per occurrence. The second tier covers extended family members, such as grandparents or in-laws. Leave for these individuals may be limited to one to three days, often designated as unpaid time off. For the loss of a non-family member or close friend, policies frequently offer zero days of designated bereavement leave, requiring the employee to use their own accrued Paid Time Off (PTO) or vacation days.
Calculating Frequency: How Policies Handle Multiple Occurrences
Most company bereavement policies address frequency by focusing on the individual event, meaning the policy resets for each qualifying death. An employee is generally entitled to the full allotted duration of leave for every covered family member who passes away, even if multiple losses occur within the same calendar year. Standard policies do not typically impose a strict annual cap on the number of qualifying occurrences. For example, employees who experience the simultaneous loss of several family members are often granted the full duration of leave for each deceased individual. Some policies, however, may contain a rare limitation that caps the total paid bereavement days an employee can use within a 12-month period, regardless of the number of qualifying events. State laws, such as the Illinois Family Bereavement Leave Act, may also limit the number of qualifying events to three within a 12-month period, though this is often for unpaid leave.
When Bereavement Leave Limits Are Exceeded
When an employee requires more time off than the standard bereavement policy allows, there are practical solutions to obtain the necessary time away from work. The most common recourse is to utilize available Paid Time Off (PTO), vacation days, or accrued sick leave to extend the absence while remaining in paid status. If the employee has no available paid time, they can request an unpaid leave of absence, often granted at the discretion of their manager and Human Resources. In rare and severe circumstances, if the employee’s grief leads to a certified “serious health condition,” the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may become applicable. FMLA does not cover general bereavement but can cover the resulting serious health condition, providing up to twelve weeks of job-protected, though unpaid, leave within a 12-month period.
Documentation and Notification Requirements
Employees must adhere to specific administrative requirements to utilize bereavement leave. Timely notification is a universal requirement; the employee should inform their supervisor and Human Resources of the need for leave as soon as possible. Employers typically have the right to request documentation to verify the need for bereavement leave. Required documentation is generally not overly burdensome and may include an obituary, a funeral program, or a death certificate. This documentation verifies the qualifying relationship and the date of the loss, ensuring the absence is properly coded.