3.2.8 - The Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA)/Child Extended Bereavement

Last updated on February 7, 2024

POLICY:  It is the policy of Spoon River College to grant unpaid leave to eligible employees, in compliance with The Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA). ). In addition, employees may be eligible for leave under the Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act.

SCOPE:

This policy applies to all eligible employees as defined below.

DEFINITIONS:

Eligible Employee:  An employee is eligible for FBLA if they have worked for at least one year, for 1,000 hours over the previous 12 months, and if at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.  Eligible employees may be granted leave on a rolling 12-month basis. 

Assisted Reproduction:  A method of achieving a pregnancy through artificial insemination or an embryo transfer and includes gamete and embryo donation.  “Assisted reproduction” does not include any pregnancy achieved through sexual intercourse.

Child: An employee’s son or daughter who is an eligible biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis.

Covered Family Member: An employee’s child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent.

Domestic Partner: used with respect to an unmarried employee, includes: (1) the person recognized as the domestic partner of the employee under any domestic partnership of civil union law of a state or political subdivision of a state; or (2)an unmarried adult person who is in a committed, personal relationship with the employee, who is not a domestic partner as described in paragraph (1) or in such a relationship with any other person, and who is designated to the employee’s employer by such employee as the employee’s domestic partner.

DETAILS:

  1. Basic Leave Entitlement (Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA)): All employees shall be entitled to use a maximum of 2 weeks (10 work days) of unpaid bereavement leave to:
    1. Attend the funeral or alternative to a funeral of a covered family member;
    2. Make arrangements necessitated by the death of a covered family member;
    3. Grieve the death of a covered family member; or
    4. Be absent from work due to (i) a miscarriage (ii) an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure; (iii) a failed adoption match or adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party; (iv) a failed surrogacy agreement; (v) a diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility; or (vi) a stillbirth.
  2. Bereavement Leave under subsection (1) of this Section must be completed within 60 days after the date on which the employee receives notice of the death of the covered family member or the date on which an event listed under paragraph (d) of subsection (1) occurs.
  3. Employee Responsibilities: Employees shall provide the employer with at least 48 hours advance notice of the employee’s intention to take bereavement leave unless providing such notice is not reasonable and practicable.Employees requesting bereavement leave shall provide the employer with reasonable documentation.  Documentation may include a death certificate, a published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious institution, or government agency.  For leave resulting from an event listed under paragraph (d) of subsection (1), reasonable documentation shall include a form provided by the Department of Labor, to be filled out by the health care practitioner who has treated the employee or employee’s spouse or domestic partner, or surrogate, for an event listed under paragraph (d) of subsection (1), certifying that the employee of his or her spouse or domestic partner, has experienced an event listed under paragraph (d) and of subsection (1).  It is not required that the healthcare provider identify which category of the event the leave pertains to as a condition of exercising rights under this policy.
  4. Substitution of Paid Leave for Unpaid Leave: An employee who is entitled to take paid leave (including bereavement, sick, vacation, paid time off, or personal) outlined in the policy and procedure manual or their respective collective bargaining agreement may elect to substitute unpaid leave with paid leave.
  5. Use of Leave: In the event of the death of more than one covered family member in a 12-month period, an employee is entitled to up to a total of 6 weeks of bereavement leave during the 12-month period.  This policy does not create a right for an employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed under or is in addition to the unpaid leave time permitted by, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.