What to know about bereavement leave at work when someone you love dies

After the loss of a family member or close friend, one of the last things someone wants to think about is their job. Unfortunately, they often have to.

The U.S. has no federal bereavement leave policy, meaning workers aren’t guaranteed time off after the death of a loved one to attend a funeral and grieve.

President Joe Biden in 2021 proposed a 3-day bereavement leave policy in his Build Back Better spending package, but the provision was dropped from the social safety net bill after objections from centrist Democrats. Mourning has been a major theme of Biden’s presidency, with him speaking often about losing his son Beau, who died in 2015 to brain cancer at age 46.

“Not being given this time for adjustment puts enormous additional pressure on the mourner,” said Mikolaj Slawkowski-Rode, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Warsaw and editor of the essay collection “The Meaning of Mourning: Perspectives on Death, Loss, and Grief.”

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Despite the lack of federal bereavement leave, workers dealing with a loss may still have options. Here’s what they should know.

Around nine out of 10 U.S. companies offer bereavement leave, according to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

“Providing flexibility during a challenging time of loss is something many organizations are willing to work with employees on,” said Julie Stich, vice president of content at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

Some employers’ policies are especially generous, Stich said. (Johnson & Johnson, for example, extends 30 days off for workers who have lost an immediate family member.)

“In our survey, there were two companies that offered 40 days for immediate family, grandparents and in-laws,” she said.