6 Types of Paid and Unpaid Leave of Absences
Filed under: Payroll
A leave of absence is when an employee takes a prolonged amount of time away from their day job but still retains their status as an employee. Leaves of absence can either be paid or unpaid, mandatory or voluntary. It is important for employers to know about the laws affecting a leave of absence and how this time off will affect payroll calculations. Here are the most common types of leave:
1. Bereavement
Mark Rowley, Owner
RandR Payroll Services
When a death occurs in the family, an employee may request bereavement leave. It is common practice for employers to grant paid bereavement leave since employees have no control over the cause for leave. However, there is no law mandating bereavement as a paid leave of absence. Employers must determine their company’s policy and include it in their employee handbook.
2. Military leave
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) establishes employment law for your employees that are also uniformed service members. When an employee is called to active duty, their employer is required to provide leave but is not required to provide paid leave. Some employers do choose to pay the difference between their employee’s military and civilian wage, but it is not required by the law.
3. Parental leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows new parents to take as much as 12 weeks of unpaid leave without risk of losing their job. There is no federal law requiring paid parental leave. However some states, including New York, California, New Jersey, and New Hampshire do have laws requiring parental leave to be paid.
4. Jury duty
When an employee is called to serve jury duty, an employer is mandated by the Jury Systems Improvement Act to provide leave. There is no federal law requiring payment for this type of leave. State laws and localities may have their own laws about jury duty pay.
5. ADA leave
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers employees with physical or mental disabilities. Employees can request leave under the ADA for medical absences related to their disability, whether short or long term.
6. Voluntary leave
Employers are not mandated to provide personal leaves of absence, paid or unpaid.
Do you need a little more information specific to your situation? Call us for a conversation on how we can help: R&R Payroll & Bookkeeping Services at (951) 296-0412.
