Bereavement Leave

Macalester offers paid bereavement leave to employees who have suffered the loss of a loved one and need time to grieve. The wellbeing of employees is a critical priority to Macalester. In the event of the death of a family member or loved one, an employee should notify their manager as soon as possible to request leave. 

Eligibility

Benefit eligible staff and faculty, with an FTE of 0.50 or greater are eligible for Bereavement Leave.

Duration of Leave

Bereavement Leave will generally coincide with the day before, the day of, and the day after the funeral if scheduled to work. If appropriate, employees may request an alternate bereavement time to accommodate cultural bereavement processes. 

Recording Hours

When employees enter Bereavement Leave on their time sheet or leave report, the employee should submit the time off equal to the number of hours the employee is normally scheduled to work on that day. Employees are paid at straight-time rates, with no overtime or shift differential, for any regularly scheduled hours missed during the period of the bereavement leave.

Important Notes

• Members of Macalester’s collective bargaining units (CBU) should refer to the collective bargaining contract for Bereavement policies.
• Macalester reserves the right to request documentation of the loss. Following a loss, some employees may seek professional support with their grief. Our EAP program provides a variety of resources.

Length of Leave

The length of the leave is dependent on the nature of the relationship with the deceased. Communicate with your manager about the amount of bereavement leave that you are requesting as provided below. Employees may arrange for additional time off with the approval of their manager.  Additional time will be paid using vacation or sick time. If vacation or sick time is not available, employees may request time off without pay to their manager. Bereavement leave is not paid when an employee is on an unpaid leave of absence.

5 Days

Employees may use up to 5 scheduled days away from work, per occurrence, in the event of the death of the employees current spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, child, or sibling.

3 Days

Employees may use up to 3 scheduled days away from work, per occurrence, in the event of the death of the employees parent-in-law or step-child.

1 Day

Employees may use 1 scheduled day away from work, per occurrence, in the event of the death of the employees former spouse, children-in-law (spouse of one’s child), sibling-in-law (spouse of ones sibling), grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, child of a sibling of the employee (niece/nephew), sibling of the parents of the employee (aunt/uncle), or co-worker.