Bereavement leave in the United States
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Most private-sector employees in the United States have no federal right to paid bereavement leave. A handful of states mandate some form of it, but for most workers the amount of time off — and whether it is paid — depends entirely on their employer's policy.
What federal law says (and doesn't say)
There is no federal statute that requires private employers to offer bereavement leave, paid or unpaid. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers serious health conditions and the birth or placement of a child, but it does not cover the death of a family member as a standalone qualifying event. In narrow circumstances — for example, if a parent develops a serious health condition related to a pregnancy loss — FMLA may apply, but grief itself is not a trigger.
The Fair Labor Standards Act is similarly silent on bereavement. Federal law gives employees no entitlement to a single day off after a death in the family.
State laws that do apply
A small but growing number of states have passed bereavement or funeral leave laws. The rules differ significantly:
Illinois requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 10 days of unpaid bereavement leave following the death of a covered family member, including a child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother- or father-in-law, or grandchild. Illinois also covers pregnancy loss.
California requires employers with 5 or more employees to provide up to 5 days of bereavement leave per qualifying death. It does not mandate that the leave be paid, but employees may use accrued paid time off. California covers spouses, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, domestic partners, and — since 2023 — pregnancy loss.
Oregon provides eligible employees with up to 2 weeks of bereavement leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act, which applies to employers with 25 or more workers.
Maryland, Washington state, and several others have introduced or expanded bereavement protections in recent years. The list is growing, so it is worth checking your state labor department's current guidance — laws in this area have been moving quickly.
If your business operates across multiple states, you need a policy that meets the most protective applicable state law in each location where you have employees.
What most employers actually do
Because federal law sets no floor, employer practice varies widely. Common approaches include:
- 3 to 5 days of paid leave for an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent), often with 1 to 3 days for extended family (grandparents, siblings, in-laws).
- Unpaid time off supplemented by the employee's accrued PTO, vacation, or sick leave.
- Discretionary leave where managers approve time off case by case, with no written policy.
Larger employers tend to have more formalized policies. Smaller employers often rely on manager discretion, which can create inconsistency and risk claims of unequal treatment.
A clearly written policy that defines covered relationships, the number of days available, whether leave is paid, and what documentation (if any) you may request is worth having even when you are not legally required to have one.
Documentation and verification
Employers are generally permitted to request reasonable documentation — an obituary, funeral program, or death certificate — before approving bereavement leave or paying out the benefit. However, asking for documentation at a sensitive moment can feel intrusive, and some state laws limit what you may require. Strike a reasonable balance: many employers waive documentation for immediate family and ask for it only when the relationship is more distant or the leave is extended.
Be consistent. If you request documentation from one employee, apply the same standard across the board to avoid discrimination claims.
Writing a policy that works
A practical bereavement leave policy should cover at minimum:
1. Who is a covered family member — be specific. "Immediate family" means different things to different people.
2. How many days are available and whether they are paid.
3. How leave interacts with PTO — can employees extend bereavement time using accrued vacation or sick leave?
4. What happens for remote employees in states with mandatory bereavement laws — their state law applies, not just your company default.
5. Pregnancy and pregnancy loss — California and Illinois explicitly cover this; even where not required, including it signals that your policy is thoughtful.
If you manage employees across several states, the patchwork of rules can get complicated fast. A resource like how Mellow runs payroll across six countries shows how layered compliance requirements work in practice. The same principle applies domestically: state-level obligations layer on top of whatever federal baseline (or absence of one) exists.
Review your bereavement policy at least once a year. State legislatures have been active in this area, and a policy that was legally sufficient in 2024 may fall short of what your state now requires.
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