Bereavement Leave Requirements in New York
At a glance
| Governing law and type of leave | No standalone private-sector bereavement mandate. N.Y. Lab. Law § 196-b sick leave expressly excludes bereavement as such; Paid Family Leave covers care, bonding, and military-family needs, not post-death grief |
|---|---|
| Covered employers and employees | No general bereavement-specific coverage. § 196-b covers private-sector employees for qualifying sick/safe uses, but a death alone is not one; voluntary policy or agreement controls any separate benefit |
| Qualifying deaths, relationships, and events | No current statewide private-sector death, relationship, funeral, memorial, or reproductive-loss list. A qualifying health condition caused by grief is treated as sick leave, not bereavement leave |
| Leave amount, timing, and caps | No bereavement-specific state allotment, annual cap, consecutive-use rule, or completion window; voluntary employer policy controls |
| Paid or unpaid; use of existing leave | No required paid or unpaid bereavement allotment. Accrued statutory sick leave may be used for a qualifying mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition after a loss |
| Notice, documentation, and proof | No general bereavement-specific state notice or proof rule. Voluntary policy controls; a health-condition sick-leave request follows § 196-b's separate rules |
| Job protection, attendance, and confidentiality | No bereavement-specific restoration, attendance, retaliation, or confidentiality right. § 196-b protections apply only when the absence is a permitted sick/safe-leave use |
| Enforcement, remedies, and deadlines | No general bereavement-specific state claim or remedy. Voluntary-policy disputes and qualifying sick-leave or Paid Family Leave claims use their own enforcement routes |
What an employee and employer do without a bereavement mandate
New York's paid-sick-leave program does not turn a family member's death into a standalone leave reason. The state's official FAQ answers the question directly: “Permissible reasons to use accrued sick leave does not include a period of bereavement.” New York Paid Family Leave likewise lists bonding, care for a family member with a serious health condition, and military-family needs, not leave to grieve after the family member dies.
Any separate funeral or bereavement benefit therefore begins with the employer's handbook, collective bargaining agreement, or other policy. That document supplies the relationships, events, days, pay, notice, proof, confidentiality, and attendance treatment for the voluntary benefit.
There is an important health-condition boundary. New York's official guidance says an employer must provide accrued sick leave for an employee's qualifying mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition even though bereavement itself is excluded. The protected reason is the health condition, not the death or funeral. The ordinary § 196-b request, documentation, pay, and anti-retaliation rules govern that use.
What trips people up
Paid sick leave is not automatically bereavement leave. A worker cannot use the statutory bank solely because a family member died. A qualifying mental or physical health condition after the loss is a different permitted reason.
Paid Family Leave normally ends with caregiving. Its current categories do not create post-death grief or funeral leave, even if the employee used leave to care for the family member before death.
Several bills would change the answer, but none is current law. Pending proposals would add bereavement to sick leave or Paid Family Leave and would create reproductive-loss coverage. They remained in committee after the scheduled 2026 session days ended.
Common questions
Can a New York employee use paid sick leave to attend a funeral?
Not solely for bereavement. The state FAQ says bereavement is not a permitted sick-leave use. An employer's separate policy may allow it.
What if grief causes depression, anxiety, or another health condition?
Accrued sick leave may be used when the employee has a qualifying mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition. The health condition—not the bereavement period—is the statutory basis.
Does New York Paid Family Leave continue after a family member dies?
Current Paid Family Leave categories cover bonding, family care, and military needs. They do not include a general post-death bereavement period.
Statutes and sources
- N.Y. Lab. Law § 196-b official guidance. Bereavement exclusion and the health-condition boundary. Paid Sick Leave FAQ and current permitted uses (accessed July 15, 2026).
- New York Paid Family Leave. Current qualifying categories. Official employee page (accessed July 15, 2026).
- Pending bills. S 8892, A 9158-A, S 3944, S 1921, and S 4376 (checked July 15, 2026; action histories rechecked August 8, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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