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Bill Summary · HB 1140

Summary of HB 1140 (2025 Session) – North Carolina

Title: State Employee Bereavement Leave/Up To 40 Hrs.

Sponsor: Representative Hawkins (with co-sponsors Tricia Cotham, Zack Hawkins, Mike Colvin)

Purpose
- Establish paid bereavement leave for state employees following the death of an immediate family member or a colleague.
- Provide up to 40 hours for immediate family deaths and up to 8 hours for colleague deaths.
- Include funding to implement the program.

Key Provisions

1) Definitions
- Colleague: A coworker at the employee’s current agency who worked for the agency within one year of the colleague’s death.
- Immediate family member: Spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or a dependent living in the employee’s household. Includes step, half, adoptive, foster, in-law, legal ward, and in loco parentis relationships.

2) Bereavement Leave Entitlement
- Full-time state employees (permanent, probationary, or time-limited): up to 40 hours of paid bereavement leave for the death of an immediate family member.
- Eligible employees: up to 8 hours of paid bereavement leave for the death of a colleague.
- Part-time employees: prorated paid bereavement leave on an equitable basis.

3) Administration and Conditions (Rules to be Adopted by the State Human Resources Commission)
- Documentation: Employees requesting leave must provide the name and relationship of the deceased.
- Availability: Eligible immediately upon hire for losses occurring on or after the first day of work.
- No annual cap: No annual limit on the number of bereavement leave uses for immediate family or colleagues.
- Travel time allowance: Up to 8 hours may be used to travel to/from and attend a funeral or memorial event; leave may be used on the date of the funeral/memorial.
- Verification: Documentation of attendance at the memorial event required after leave use.
- Inter-agency transfer: If an employee transfers between state agencies, unused bereavement leave remains usable at the new agency.
- Documentation of death: Necessary at time of request or as soon as available; acceptable forms include death certificate, obituary, and funeral/memorial details.
- Use window: Immediate family bereavement leave must be used within 180 days of death (or discovery, if death was discovered later). Leave need not be consecutive days.
- Prohibited misrepresentation: Fraud or falsification related to relationships, death, or documentation can lead to disciplinary action, up to dismissal.

4) Leave Conditions and Effects
- Leave is in addition to other leave (sick, vacation, shared leave, etc.).
- No cash value upon termination, not used in retirement calculations, and cannot be donated as shared leave.
- Applies to employees of state agencies, departments, and institutions, including UNC and public/community college employees.
- Governing boards must implement substantially equivalent bereavement leave policies if applicable.

5) Related Statutory Changes
- G.S. 126-8.6 and G.S. 126-8.8 apply to all state, public school, and community college employees (with certain branches exempt from parental leave/bereavement policies per existing subdivisions).
- Legislative and judicial branches to adopt their own parental leave and bereavement leave policies.

6) Funding
- Section 2 appropriates $2,000,000 from the General Fund (Reserve for Compensation Increases) for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to fund paid bereavement leave.

7) Effective Date
- Effective July 1, 2026.
- Applies to requests for paid bereavement leave for deaths occurring on or after that date.

Impact and Implications

  • Affects: State employees across state agencies, higher education institutions (including UNC), public schools, and community colleges.
  • Financial: $2 million appropriation in FY 2026-27 to fund the program; ongoing costs depend on utilization and future appropriations.
  • Operational: Requires administrative rules by the State Human Resources Commission and comparable rules by institutional governing boards to implement eligibility, documentation, and usage rules.
  • Employee Experience: Provides a formal, paid benefit to address bereavement needs with substantial time for immediate family and a shorter option for colleagues, without using sick or vacation leave first.

Overall Assessment
HB 1140 creates a structured paid bereavement leave program for state employees, establishing clear entitlements, documentation requirements, and a funding mechanism to support implementation beginning July 1, 2026. It expands leave beyond existing categories, removes annual limits on bereavement usage, and coordinates with agency-specific policies to cover a broad public sector workforce.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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