bereavement leave for texas
Posted by admin - 06/02/09 at 11:02 ambereavement leave for texas
“Bereavement Leave Terms for Texas Employees”
At one point in a person’s life, he or she is put into a stressful situation of coming to terms with the death of a family member while worrying about not being able to go to work.
When this happens, you are first likely to ask what policies are out there regarding bereavement leave for Texas employees.
As with any other states, Texas provides no specific law that entitles all employees, whether private or public, to the right to bereavement leave. There’s not even a federal law that directly addresses such type of leave.
The Texas Payday Law covers in its definition of “wages” any fringe benefits including the sick leave pay, vacation leave pay, holiday leave pay, etc. The said law will enforce such benefits as indicated in a written policy of the employer or written agreement between the employer and employee.
It’s all up to the employer what terms and conditions he or she wants to set, as long as the policies are clearly drafted. The said law does not require employers to offer bereavement leave for Texas’ private employees. But, as stated above, it is upon the employer’s discretion to provide for such benefit.
The Section 661 of the Texas Government Code covers policies regarding leave terms and offers specific guidelines on emergency or bereavement leave for Texas state employees.
Section 661.902 entitled “Emergency Leave” entitles every state employee to emergency leave without a deduction in salary in the event a death in the employee’s family occurs, which includes the death of the employee’s spouse or of a parent, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, or child of the employee or of the employee’s spouse is considered to be eligible.
However, terms regarding the amount of time given for this type of leave are left upon the discretion of the administrative head of the agency.
It should be noted that it is still best to consult a professional for legal advice.
