Time Off

What Is Bereavement Leave?

Bereavement leave — also called funeral leave or compassionate leave — is time off granted to an employee after the death of a family member or close relation, to grieve, make arrangements, and attend the funeral. It is typically three to five days for an immediate family member and one to three days for extended family, and it is usually paid, though no US federal law requires it.

How Bereavement Leave Works

  • 1The employee notifies their manager or HR of the death and the days they need, usually by phone or email rather than the normal request form.
  • 2The policy determines the entitlement based on the relationship — immediate family typically gets the longest allowance.
  • 3Leave is granted as its own category so it does not come out of the employee's PTO balance.
  • 4Some employers ask for documentation such as an obituary or a funeral programme, though many waive it.
  • 5Where travel is required, employers often extend the allowance or allow unpaid days on top.

No Federal Right, But a Growing List of State Mandates

The FLSA does not require employers to provide bereavement leave, paid or unpaid, so for most of the US it remains a voluntary benefit — but that is changing state by state. California's AB 1949 requires covered employers to provide up to five days of bereavement leave for a family member, and Illinois' Family Bereavement Leave Act extends unpaid leave to cover pregnancy loss, failed adoption, and related events. Oregon goes furthest, providing up to two weeks of bereavement leave per family member under the Oregon Family Leave Act, and several other states allow paid family and medical leave to be used in specific bereavement situations. The definition of "family member" is where policies most often fall short: many still cover only spouse, child, and parent, and omit miscarriage and pregnancy loss, chosen family, and in-laws — gaps that read as harsh at the worst possible moment and increasingly fail state definitions too. Because these mandates differ in length, pay, and who counts as family, multi-state employers should check the rule for the state where the employee works, not the head-office state.

A Leave Type That Doesn't Touch the PTO Balance

ClockIt lets you define bereavement as its own leave type with its own allowance and rules, so it never silently comes out of someone's vacation days. Approvals can be fast-tracked, the record stays private to HR, and the days show correctly on the schedule so the team can cover without anyone chasing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many days is bereavement leave?
Three to five days for an immediate family member — spouse, child, parent, sibling — and one to three days for extended family is the most common US policy. California requires up to five days for covered employers.
Is bereavement leave required by law in the US?
Not federally. The FLSA does not require it. Several states do, including California and Illinois, and others allow paid family and medical leave to be used for it, so check the rule for the state where the employee works.
Is bereavement leave paid?
Usually yes for immediate family at employers who offer it, but it varies. Some state mandates require the leave to be available without requiring it to be paid, in which case employees can often choose to use accrued PTO.
Who counts as family for bereavement leave?
That is set by your policy, and it is where most policies are too narrow. Immediate family is nearly always covered; strong policies also include grandparents, in-laws, chosen family, and pregnancy loss — which some state laws now require.
Does bereavement leave come out of PTO?
It should not. Best practice is a separate leave type with its own allowance, so grieving employees are not spending vacation days. Some employers do fold it into PTO, which is legal in most states but poorly received.

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