Bereavement Leave FAQs
Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order 325 on November 1, 2024, detailing a new Bereavement Leave program that will be available to eligible state employees within cabinet agencies. Other state agencies, universities, commissions, boards or offices may choose to adopt the policy for their employees.
Bereavement Leave will provide 40 hours of paid leave for eligible employees following the loss of an immediate family member. It also provides paid leave to attend the funeral or other memorial event of a colleague. This is another way for the State of North Carolina to show we value our most important asset, our employees, by ensuring they can care for themselves and their loved ones after experiencing a loss.
Frequently Asked Questions for Employees
Bereavement Leave is available to employees of a participating agency that experience the loss of an immediate family member or a colleague with whom they worked in their current agency, so long as the colleague worked for that agency within the last year. Eligible employees are those who are permanent, probationary, or time-limited, and either full-time or part-time with a schedule that is at least half-time. Temporary employees, interns and contractors are not eligible for Bereavement Leave. Part-time employees are not eligible for Bereavement Leave if they work less than half-time.
All Cabinet agencies are participating, as are any state agencies, commissions, boards, or offices that choose to adopt the policy related to Bereavement Leave. Employees of a Non-Cabinet Agency should watch for communications from their employer related to this policy.
The Council of State Agencies, boards, commissions, and universities will have an opportunity to sign up for participation in this leave program. We will update this FAQ page with a list of non-cabinet agencies as they request to participate. It will take the Council of State Agencies several weeks to consider participation in this leave program. Non-Cabinet Agencies that have opted-in are listed below.
| Non-Cabinet Agencies that have Opted-In to Bereavement Leave | |
|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services | Office of State Fire Marshal |
| Department of Insurance | Office of the State Controller |
| Department of Justice | Office of the State Auditor |
| Department of Labor | State Ethics Commission |
| Department of Public Instruction | University of North Carolina (UNC) Systems Office |
| Department of the Secretary of State | Wildlife Resources Commission |
| Industrial Commission | |
Full-time employees will receive forty (40) hours of Bereavement Leave following the loss of an immediate family member and up to eight (8) hours of Bereavement Leave following the loss of a colleague for travel to and from and attendance at a funeral or other memorial event.
Part-time employees will receive a prorated amount based on their number of hours compared to a full-time schedule.
For the purposes of Bereavement Leave, immediate family member has the same meaning as defined in the Sick Leave policy. It is someone having a relationship with the employee included in the chart below:
| Spouse | Parent | Child | Sibling | Grand/Great | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Husband Wife | Biological Adoptive Step Loco Parentis* In-law | Biological Adoptive Foster Step Legal Ward Loco Parentis* In-law | Biological Adoptive Step Half In-law | Parent Child Step In-law | Living in the employee’s household. |
| *A person who is in the position or place of a parent. | |||||
For purposes of the policy, someone who passed away is "a colleague with whom the employee worked" if that person interacted with the employee – for example, either as a project collaborator or in break-time conversations -- at work.
Yes, so long as they left the agency within the last year.
No, Bereavement Leave may not be used to attend memorial events for employees of other agencies, unless they worked for your agency within the last year.
Following the loss of an immediate family member, bereavement leave may be used as the employee deems appropriate for time to grieve, attend a funeral, visitation or memorial service, deal with estate matters, or other related needs. It is not required that the employee use the leave on consecutive days, so long as it is used within 180 days of the date of death of the family member.
Following the loss of a colleague, bereavement leave may only be used to attend the funeral, visitation or other memorial event.
Yes. Supervisor approval is required in advance of using this leave. As with other forms of leave, employees should request use of leave at least two weeks before the leave is needed unless such notice is impractical, as may be the case with this type of leave.
Supervisors shall approve the use of Bereavement Leave following the loss of an immediate family member for the date requested if it involves attendance at a funeral, visitation or other memorial event. Otherwise, the supervisor shall approve the use of Bereavement Leave for the date(s) requested by the employee to the greatest extent possible, while maintaining business operations. For instances other than attendance at a funeral, visitation or other memorial event for an immediate family member, the supervisor or other manager may require that the Bereavement Leave be taken at a time other than the one requested, based on the needs of the agency.
Supervisors shall approve the use of Bereavement Leave following the loss of a colleague for the date requested to the greatest extent possible, while maintaining business operations. It is possible that not everyone who requests time off to attend a funeral or other memorial event for a colleague will be able to attend, if it hinders business operations or the safety of the workplace.
Yes. Employees will be required to provide documentation showing the loss of an immediate family member at the time the leave is requested. If documentation is not available at the time of the request, the documentation must be provided as soon as it is available.
Following the loss of a colleague, the employee must provide proof of attendance at the funeral or other memorial event to record time away from work as Bereavement Leave.
Following the loss of an immediate family member, acceptable documentation should include, but is not limited to, a death certificate, obituary, and funeral or memorial event information.
Following the loss of a colleague, the employee must provide proof of attendance at the funeral or other memorial event.
No, Bereavement Leave may only be used on days for which you would otherwise be scheduled to work. For example, if the memorial occurs on a Saturday, and you normally work Monday through Friday, then no leave is used.
Employees may use Bereavement Leave before exhausting any accumulated compensatory time.
Employees should follow the established agency procedure for requesting leave. Generally, employees should request Bereavement Leave at least two weeks before the leave is needed unless such notice is impractical.
Employees will use A/A code 9250 for bereavement leave approved for the loss of an immediate family member. Employees will use A/A code 9255 for bereavement leave following the loss of a colleague.
Yes. This Bereavement Leave following the loss of an immediate family member expires if not used within 180 days of the date of death of the immediate family member. This leave has no cash value and cannot be converted into retirement credit.
Bereavement Leave following the loss of a colleague that is not used on the day of the funeral, or another memorial event is forfeited.
Employees are eligible for Bereavement Leave following the loss of each immediate family member or colleague, even if they occur in the same calendar year.
If an employee loses more than one immediate family member on the same day or event, the employee shall be eligible to take up to 40 hours of leave for each immediate family member.
Yes, employees are eligible for Bereavement Leave in addition to Paid Parental Leave in this circumstance. Bereavement Leave must be used within 180 days of the date of death.
It depends. If an employee transfers from one participating agency to another participating agency, and the employee has any amount of unused Bereavement Leave for which they are eligible, the employee may use the remainder of the Bereavement Leave for which they are eligible at the receiving agency, within the required timeframe. The receiving agency may confirm the amount of Bereavement Leave eligibility and expiration date with the sending agency.
If an employee transfers from a participating agency to a non-participating agency, and the employee has any amount of unused Bereavement Leave for which they were eligible at the participating agency, they forfeit the remainder of the leave.
The Bereavement Leave A/A codes will be available November 1, 2024. Bereavement Leave may be retroactively applied if the employee was absent between September 27- October 31, 2024 due to loss of an immediate family member, upon the employee’s request. Any leave for which the employee is eligible that is not retroactively applied must be used within 180 days of the date of death.
Bereavement Leave for the loss of a colleague that occurred between September 27-October 31, 2024 may be retroactively applied to the time the employee was absent to travel to and from and attend the funeral or other memorial event.
Frequently Asked Questions for Managers
Agencies should, to the greatest extent possible, allow employees to use the leave at the time requested. As such, supervisors are encouraged to accommodate employees who may request to be absent for a colleague’s funeral or other memorial event. However, when necessary to avoid impact to agency services, supervisors may deny the use of leave to attend the funeral or other memorial event of a colleague.
Agencies should, to the greatest extent possible, allow employees to use the leave at the time requested. However, agencies may require that the Bereavement Leave for the loss of an immediate family member, for reasons other than attending a funeral or other memorial event, be taken at a time other than the one requested, based on the needs of the agency.
Any employee who attempts to gain eligibility for bereavement leave through falsification of a familial relationship, falsification of a death, falsification of supporting documentation, or any other untruthful manner shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
Employees may use Bereavement Leave-Family (A/A 9250) or Bereavement Leave-Colleague (A/A 9255). Note: this absence attendance code will be effective November 1, 2024, and can be used retroactively for bereavement effective September 27, 2024. Be sure to include long or short text for Bereavement Leave-Family (Family, mother, father, etc., date of death) or Bereavement Leave-Colleague (1st initial, last name of colleague) and date of funeral or memorial event.) and approved by management.