Grieving Dads Project

Parental Bereavement Act of 2011

It is my opinion that the death of a child is one of the worst experiences that anyone can endure.  Many employers allow for bereavement leave up to 2-3 days.  Employees are expected to use their available vacation time after the 2-3 days of bereavement leave have been expended.  If the employee exhausts both of these benefits and still requires additional time off the employer has grounds to terminate the employee.

I find it unacceptable that the death of a child is not included as a protected reason to qualify for 12 weeks of unpaid leave as part of the FMLA.  If you agree with me, I ask you to do two things:  1) Click on the link below and sign the e-petition and 2) Share this link with people you know by emailing it to your contacts. 

Let’s see if we can get someone’s attention on this issue.

 Petition to Modify Existing Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)

Topic: 

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)

Brief Overview of Existing FMLA Benefits:

 The FMLA applies to all public agencies, all public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees. These employers must provide an eligible employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for any of the following reasons:   

•  for the birth and care of the newborn child of an employee;
• for placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care;
• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition;
• to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition; or
• to care for an injured service member in the family

Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for their employer at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles.

 Issue with FMLA:

 The issue with the current FMLA is the fact that it doesn’t extend benefits (outlined above) to employees that have experienced the death of a child.

Objective of Petition:

Modify existing FMLA to expand coverage and existing benefits to employees that have experienced the death of a child.