Overview. Senate Bill 2613, The Child Bereavement Leave Act, requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide child bereavement leave.
Effective Date. Effective July 29, 2016
Details. Below is a high level review of the provisions of this law.
Covered Employers. This law applies to employers who have 50 or more employees in each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
Covered Employees. To be eligible for child bereavement leave, the employee must:
· Have at least 12 months of service with the employer;
· Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period prior to the leave; and
· Work at a location where 50 or more employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
Permissible Use of Leave.
· Eligible employees may use up to 10 days of unpaid bereavement leave to:
· Attend the funeral (or an alternative to a funeral) of a child (including a biological, adopted, step, or foster child, a legal ward, or a child of an employee standing in place of a parent).
· Make arrangements necessitated by the death of a child; or
· Grieve the death of a child.
The leave must be completed within 60 days of the employee receiving notice of the death of his or her child. If an employee experiences the death of more than one child in a 12-month period, the employee is entitled to up to a total of six weeks of unpaid bereavement leave during the 12-month period.
Notice and Documentation. When reasonable and practical, employees must provide at least 48 hours' advance notice of their intention to take bereavement leave.
Employers may require reasonable documentation, such as a death certificate, a published obituary, or written verification of death, burial, or memorial services.
Interaction with FMLA. Senate Bill 2613 doesn’t create a right for unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave allowed under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Therefore, if an employee exhausts all of their FMLA leave during the applicable 12-month period, the employer isn’t required to provide additional bereavement leave.
Substitution of Leave. If employees are eligible for other types of leave through their employer, they may substitute that leave for the period during which they are out for child bereavement purposes.
Retaliation Prohibitions. Employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against employees for exercising their rights under the law.
Call to Action. Covered Illinois employers should review policies, practices, and supervisor training to ensure compliance with the Child Bereavement Leave Act.