In the event of a death in an employee's immediate family, the employee may be granted the following days of paid time off, considered as bereavement leave, to handle matters related to the loss of life and grieving. Timely communication to the immediate supervisor will be necessary, to allow for processing the paid time off and for proper accommodations, as may be needed.
Three (3) days of bereavement leave may be granted to eligible employees (part-time/full-time, exempt/non-exempt) to attend the funeral and or mourn the loss of members of the immediate families of the employee or spouse. Additional days may be added as follows:
For this purpose, “immediate family” is defined as wife or husband, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, or persons bearing the same relationship to the spouse.
Hourly employees, in conjunction with their supervisor, must complete a Paid Leave Time Sheet. Bereavement leave days will be credited to and paid from the hourly employee’s paid leave bank according to the applicable amount of time stipulated in subparagraphs a, b, and c above.
If a funeral, memorial service, or other activity surrounding the loss of life is not immediately scheduled, employees are eligible to take bereavement time up to three (3) months from the date of death, so long as the employee does not exhaust the allowable time as defined in subparagraphs a, b, and c above. Bereavement leave pay will only apply to the days actually taken for this purpose.
Any time off beyond what’s provided within this policy, will be deducted from the employee’s paid leave bank, vacation time, or considered leave without pay (if no time is available), which must be approved by the supervisor and submitted to Human Resources in a timely manner. For leave without pay, see policy 3130.
Southern reserves the right to request documentation as proof of death (examples: death certificate, funeral agreements); although proof of death is not typically required.