When an employee experiences a death in the family, they may ask for time off to make funeral arrangements, attend the funeral or other services, and/or to grieve the individual who has passed away. Are employers required to grant the request? As this area has grown with the passage and expansion of requirements, we’ve compiled and answered some frequently asked questions about bereavement leave.
KEY POINTSUnderstanding bereavement leave requirements:
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Q: Are employers required to provide bereavement leave?
A: A handful of states and local jurisdictions require certain employers to provide bereavement leave. Review some examples listed below. If you are covered by a state or local bereavement leave requirement, make sure your policy and practices align with the law.
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State |
Bereavement leave requirements |
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California
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The state requires employers with five or more employees to offer up to five days of bereavement leave for the death of a family member. Unless the employer has an existing paid bereavement leave policy, the leave provided under law may be unpaid, but employees are entitled to use accrued sick leave or other paid time off for this purpose. |
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Colorado
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The state requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. In 2023, Colorado expanded the requirement to entitle employees to also use accrued paid sick leave to grieve, attend funeral services or a memorial, or deal with financial and legal matters that arise after the death of a family member. |
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Illinois
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The state requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave for employees who experience a death in the family. In 2024, the state expanded its bereavement leave requirements to entitle an employee of an employer with 250 or more full-time employees in Illinois to use a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave if the employee experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide. An employee of an employer with 50 to 249 full-time employees in Illinois is entitled to use up to 6 weeks of unpaid leave if the employee experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide. |
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Maryland
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Under the Maryland Flexible Leave Act, employers that have 15 or more employees and provide paid leave must allow an employee to use the leave after the death of a child, spouse or parent. Employers that don’t provide paid leave aren’t covered by the requirement. |
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Minnesota
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Statewide: The state requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. In 2024, the state expanded the requirement to entitle employees to also use accrued paid sick leave when they need to make arrangements for or attend funeral services or a memorial, or address financial or legal matters that arise after the death of a family member. Minneapolis and St. Paul: The cities also have paid sick leave laws. In 2025, both cities amended their laws to entitle employees to also use accrued paid sick leave when they need to make arrangements for or attend funeral services or a memorial, or address financial or legal matters that arise after the death of a family member. |
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Oregon
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Under the Oregon Family Leave Act, employers that have 25 or more employees must provide unpaid bereavement leave for the death of a family member. This bereavement leave is limited to two weeks per family member with a maximum of four weeks in a given leave year. Oregon requires employers to provide paid sick leave if they have 10 or more employees (six or more employees if they have a location in Portland). Smaller employers must also provide sick leave, but it may be unpaid. Employees are entitled to use their accrued sick leave for a variety of specified reasons, including:
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Vermont
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In 2025, the state amended the Vermont Parental and Family Leave Act to require employers with 10 or more employees to also provide unpaid leave to employees for the death of a family member or to settle an estate. This leave is limited to two weeks (10 workdays), and no more than five days may be taken consecutively. |
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Washington
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Statewide: Under the state of Washington’s paid family leave law, almost all employees are entitled to up to seven days of wage replacement benefits after the death of a child, if the employee would have qualified for medical leave for the birth of the child or family leave to bond with the child after birth, adoption or foster placement. Employees may also be entitled to job protection during the time off. Effective January 1, 2026, the job protection provisions were expanded to cover employers with 25 or more employees. Tacoma: The city has enacted a law that entitles employees to paid sick leave, provided they work within the geographical boundaries of the city for at least 80 hours in a benefit year. Under the city’s law, employees are entitled to use paid sick leave for a variety of specified reasons, including bereavement. |
Laws requiring paid leave for any reason
A few states and local jurisdictions have enacted laws that entitle employees to paid time off for any reason, including bereavement. These states and local jurisdictions include the following.
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State |
Employers who must provide paid leave to use for any reason |
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Illinois |
Statewide: All employers must provide paid leave that employees can use for any purpose, including bereavement, unless the employer is covered by a municipal or county ordinance that was in effect on January 1, 2024 that requires employers to give any form of paid leave to their employees. Chicago: All employers with at least one covered employee working in Chicago must provide employees with paid leave that they can use for any reason, including bereavement. |
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Maine
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Employers with 10 or more employees must provide paid leave that employees can use for any purpose. |
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Nevada
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Employers with 50 or more employees must provide paid leave that employees can use for any purpose. |
Additionally, in California, the city of West Hollywood requires employers to provide paid leave that employees can use for sickness, vacation, and/or personal necessity (such as bereavement). In New Mexico, Bernalillo County requires employers in unincorporated areas to provide paid leave that employees can use for any reason.
Q: In the states and cities that require bereavement leave, for which family members can employees take such leave?
A: The definition of covered family members varies by state and local jurisdiction.
For example, under California’s bereavement leave law, a family member is a spouse or a child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or parent-in-law as these terms are defined here.
By contrast, covered family members under Minnesota’s law include a:
- Child, including foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent);
- Spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling;
- Biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent, or a person who stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent) when the employee was a minor child;
- Grandchild, foster grandchild or step-grandchild;
- Grandparent or step-grandparent;
- A child of a sibling of the employee;
- A sibling of the parents of the employee;
- A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;
- Any of the family members listed above of an employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and
- Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
Check applicable state and local laws for details on the definition of covered family members.
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Note: In locations that require paid leave for any reason, employees would be entitled to use that leave for the death of any individual. |
Q: If I want to offer bereavement leave voluntarily, how much should I offer?
A: Absent a state or local requirement, employers generally have broad discretion to decide whether, and to what extent, to offer bereavement leave. Employers that voluntarily offer bereavement leave typically provide at least three days. In your policy, be sure to also indicate whether the allotment is per year or per death in the family.
Q: Can I limit bereavement leave eligibility to full-time employees or to employees who have worked for a certain length of time?
A: If you are subject to a state or local bereavement leave requirement, the state or local law will typically include eligibility rules. Check your state and local law for details. Your policy should align with applicable rules.
In situations where bereavement leave isn’t required, employers may set their own eligibility rules, such as limiting bereavement leave to full-time employees and/or requiring new hires to work a certain length of time (e.g., 90 days or six months) before becoming eligible for bereavement leave. In either case, eligibility rules should be clearly stated in the policy.
Q: If I offer bereavement leave voluntarily, can it be unpaid?
A: Employers that offer bereavement leave voluntarily may choose to offer it as unpaid leave. However, many of these employers will allow employees the option of using other paid leave during bereavement-related absences. Your written policy should address how pay will be handled during bereavement leave.
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Note: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, deductions from the salary of an employee classified as exempt from overtime are permitted in very limited circumstances. One of them is when the employee is absent for one or more full days for personal reasons other than sickness or disability, such as attending a family member’s funeral. |
Q: Can I ask for documentation that the employee’s absence was covered by our bereavement leave policy?
A: States and local jurisdictions that require bereavement leave typically address what, if any, documentation may be required.
For example, in California, an employer may request that an employee provide documentation of the death of the family member. If requested by the employer, the employee must provide it within 30 days of the first day of the leave. Under the law, “documentation” includes, but isn’t limited to: a death certificate, a published obituary, or a written verification of death, burial or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution or governmental agency.
Check your state and local law for details.
In situations where a state or local bereavement leave requirement wouldn’t apply, an employer may ask for reasonable documentation that the leave was taken for a covered reason. Any documentation requirements and deadlines for meeting them should be clearly stated in your policy.
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Note: In states and local jurisdictions that require paid leave for any reason, employers are typically prohibited from asking an employee for documentation for their paid leave request. |
Conclusion
Whether you are required to offer bereavement leave or choose to do so voluntarily, make sure you have a clear written policy, and train supervisors on how to apply it, and apply it consistently to all employees.
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