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WorkLynx
Preloaded policy

Bereavement Leave Policy template

Time off for death of a family member; coordinates with state bereavement-leave mandates where applicable.

Legal basis
  • No federal mandate; state bereavement-leave laws (CA AB 1949, IL, OR, MD, WA et al.)
  • company-defined where state is silent
Last reviewed April 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.

What the policy covers

  1. 1. PURPOSE
    To provide paid time off for employees who experience the death of a covered family member, recognizing the need to attend services, manage affairs, and grieve.
  2. 2. ELIGIBILITY
    All regular full-time and part-time employees are eligible from their date of hire.
  3. 3. ENTITLEMENT
    Immediate family (spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild): up to 5 working days of paid bereavement leave
  4. 4. REQUESTING LEAVE
    Notify your manager as soon as practicable.
  5. 5. PREGNANCY LOSS AND REPRODUCTIVE LOSS
    Several states (CA, IL) extend bereavement leave entitlements to pregnancy loss, failed adoption, failed surrogacy, failed reproductive procedures, and similar reproductive losses.
  6. 6. EXTENDED CIRCUMSTANCES
    Where travel is required, where the employee is the executor or administrator of the estate, or where the death follows a prolonged illness in which the employee provided care, add
  7. 7. NO RETALIATION
    Use of bereavement leave for a qualifying purpose is protected.

Who needs it

Any employer who wants absence handled the same way every time, and to be seen to take health seriously.

Questions people ask

Is a bereavement leave policy a legal requirement?

It rests on No federal mandate; state bereavement-leave laws (CA AB 1949, IL, OR, MD, WA et al.) and company-defined where state is silent. Some policies must be written down once a business reaches a certain size or does certain work; others are simply how a tribunal, an inspector or an auditor expects to see that you have thought about it. A clear, dated, signed policy is the evidence either way. Guidance, not legal advice.

Can I change it to suit how we work?

Yes. Inside Work-Lynx it is a starting point: put your company name in, adjust the arrangements to what you actually do, set the review date and publish it. Staff read and acknowledge it on their phones, and you can see who has not.

Is it up to date?

Last reviewed April 2026. The pack is updated when the law moves, and every policy carries a review date so it does not quietly go stale.

How do I get it?

It is preloaded in Work-Lynx with the other 28 policies for the US. Work-Lynx is $3 plus $1.25 per employee, 14 days free, no card, and what you see on the pricing page is the bill.

Who is it for?

Any employer who wants absence handled the same way every time, and to be seen to take health seriously.

All 29 US policies, $3 a month

This policy and 28 others are already in Work-Lynx, alongside GPS clock-in, schedules, timesheets, PTO and an employment-question advisor. $3 base plus $1.25 per employee a month. 14 days free, no card, no sales call.

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