608: Funeral Leave

Statement

Georgetown University grants paid funeral leave to eligible employees when a death occurs in an employee’s immediate family.  The University also allows eligible employees to use paid leave or unpaid leave to attend observances or conduct personal business related to the death of friends or family members who are not in the employee’s immediate family.

Philosophy

Funeral leave is granted by the University to allow employees time to attend funerals of immediate family members and conduct personal business related to the death of the immediate family member. 

Procedures

Definition 
For the purpose of this policy, immediate family is defined as the employee’s spouse, parents, legal guardian, children, grandparents, siblings, or any person who stands in the same relationship. 

Eligibility 
All employees who are not currently on any form of unpaid leave are eligible to use funeral leave. 

Notification 
An employee must promptly notify the supervisor regarding the use of funeral leave so that adequate job coverage can be arranged during the employee’s absence. 

Length of Leave 
Full-time employees are granted up to five working days of funeral (paid administrative leave) for a death-related occurrence.  Part-time employees (those scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week) are granted compassion leave equal to the number of hours the employee is normally scheduled to work during one work week.  Days off may be intermittent or consecutive. 

If additional time is required, the employee may use paid leave or request leave without pay subject to the provisions of that policy.  

Responsibility

Employees who need to use funeral leave must promptly notify the department and the supervisor about departure and return dates. 

The department must administer this policy reasonably and equitably

Resources

Contact the Human Resources department if you have questions or if you would like more information about this policy.