In the unfortunate circumstance that an immediate family member passes away, you may find yourself unable to grieve due to concerns outside of your control. Fortunately, many California Companies chose to offer bereavement leave as a company benefit. Bereavement leave is offered as a benefit to employees whose spouse, child, parent, sibling, or other immediate relative have passed away. However, because California law does not require employers to provide bereavement leave, leave policies will vary from company to company.
What Is Bereavement Leave?
By definition, bereavement leave is time off granted by a company to its employee after the result of the death of an immediate family member. Specifically, to qualify for bereavement leave, the late immediate family member must be one of the following:
- Spouse or partner
- Parent(s)
- Child(ren)
- Sibling
- Step-Parent(s)
- Aunt
- Uncle
- Cousin
- Grandparent(s)
This is not an exhaustive list. Because there is no state law outlining the requirements of bereavement leave, whether or not a death qualifies for an employee to use their bereavement leave is dependent on their company’s specific policy. Therefore, while one company may define an immediate family member as a spouse, child, parent, or sibling another may expand their definition to include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Bereavement Leave – Company Policies
Though there is no law requiring companies in California to provide bereavement leave policies to their employees, most companies do. If offered, bereavement leave policies can be found in the company handbook. Typically, these policies are found in the same place as sick leave, maternity leave, and other similar company policies. The amount of time off afforded to an employee for bereavement leave is determined by each company. Some companies may offer employees a predetermined number of days off each time an immediate family member passes away. Other companies may require that the employee have a minimum amount of required sick days
Public vs. Private Bereavement Leave Policies
Aside from the individuality of bereavement leave policies from company to company, another important factor to consider is whether you are employed by a public or private company.
Private Employers
If you are employed by a private company, your employer is under no legal obligation to provide you with bereavement leave benefits. However, your employer may choose to provide the benefits anyways. Private companies who chose to provide bereavement leave benefits can exercise full discretion on how and when the policy can apply. This means your employer reserves the right to both approve and deny your use of bereavement leave, even if the employee handbook specifies the policy’s requirements. Therefore, if you are employed by a private company and your request to use your company’s provided bereavement leave is declined, there is no basis for filing a legal claim. This is because a violation of company policy is not a violation of the law. Therefore, it is not an actionable item in the court of law.
Public Employers
Unlike employees in the private sector, some state employees are given the right to utilize bereavement leave. In-state and government agencies, bereavement leave policies are governed by Government Code 19859.3. This section of the code grants paid bereavement leave to individuals who have suffered the loss of an immediate relative. More specifically, the government code defines an immediate relative as the following relations:
- Marriage
- Blood
- Adoption
- And, any person who was presently residing in the immediate home of the state employee at their time of death.
Generally, bereavement leave policies at the state and government level allow employees an average of three paid days off of work following the death of an immediate family member. Some companies may even allow other benefits, such as accrued sick leave or paid time off, which may be used in combination with bereavement leave if additional time off is needed. Additionally, the circumstances surrounding the death may change the application of your state-mandated bereavement leave. For instance, if the death of the immediate family member occurred outside the State of California, you may be granted additional paid time off to allow for adequate travel time.
Who is Eligible for Bereavement Leave in State Agencies?
While California Government Code 19859.3 provides bereavement leave to individuals employed by the state, there are some exceptions to determining an employee’s eligibility. State employees who fall into the categories of permanent, probationary full-time, and excluded employees are automatically granted paid bereavement leave for the death of an immediate family member. State employees in California are defined as hired officers or an employee of the executive branch, excluding those employees who are members of the civil service. In-state agencies bereavement leave policy benefits are allocated to employees based on their status. Typically, to determine eligibility, employees are split into two categories: excluded employees and rank and file employees.
Excluded Employees:
According to Government Code section 19859.3, bereavement leave applies to excluded employees in state agencies for the death of an immediate family member. For qualifying excluded employees, bereavement leave is granted without advance notice. Appropriate circumstances will provide substantial evidence to support the request.
Rank and File Employees:
For Rank and File Employees, bereavement leave policy requirements are found in the state’s bargaining unit contracts. Due to the nature of rank and file employees, the terms of bereavement leave may vary between individual bargaining units.
Reporting & Accessing Your Bereavement Leave:
State employees who find themselves needing to use their bereavement leave should turn to the Classification and Pay Analyst for information specific to accessing their paid time off. The Classification and Pay Analyst is also responsible for handling disputes related to bereavement leave contracts.
To properly report their bereavement leave, employees are required to explicitly state their relationship to the deceased individual. This specification must be included in the comment section of the Project Accounting and Leave form. In addition to this form, employees will provide physical proof of the individual’s passing.
Contact Pride Legal
We invite you to contact us at Pride Legal for legal counseling or any further questions. To protect your rights, hire someone who understands them.