When his father died from COVID-19 in 2020, James Gerraughty didn’t have to choose between working and grieving.
That’s because his employer provides three days of paid bereavement for the death of a parent. This gave Gerraughty enough time to drive from the Altoona area to Buffalo, New York, to collect his dad’s remains.
Gerraughty said his employer was flexible as he undertook closing his father’s estate and cleaning his house. The two-and-a-half year effort became a second job, Gerraughty told How We Care. But the government contracting consultant had “very good support,” he said of his boss and colleagues.
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Not everyone is so lucky. Pennsylvania doesn’t have a universal bereavement leave policy. Employers offer it at their discretion, meaning many workers can experience the death of a loved one but not get time off.
Other states have filled this gap in labor law, to varying degrees. California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington all mandate some form of bereavement leave. Spotlight PA contacted the chambers of commerce in those states to ask how the laws affect the workforce and business. Most either declined to comment or did not respond.
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