FMLA for Bereavement: Can You Use Family Medical Leave After a Death?

FMLA Does Not Cover Bereavement Directly

The Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during an employer's 12-month leave period — but bereavement is not a qualifying event. There is no provision in FMLA that entitles you to time off specifically because someone died.

This surprises many people. FMLA covers serious health conditions, pregnancy, bonding with a new child, and military caregiver situations. A death in the family, by itself, is not on the list.

The Workaround: Grief as a Serious Health Condition

Here is what FMLA does cover: your own qualifying serious health condition, which may prevent you from working or require ongoing treatment. A grief-related condition — such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, prolonged grief disorder, or PTSD — may qualify if it meets the FMLA serious-health-condition criteria and the employee and employer meet the law's eligibility rules. A diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility.

The key is clinical documentation when your employer requires it. Your employer may require a healthcare provider's certification of a serious health condition and the medical need for leave. Ask HR which certification form and supporting information it requires.

Grief-related conditions that may qualify when the FMLA criteria are met include:

• Major depressive disorder with symptoms severe enough to impair daily functioning
• Prolonged grief disorder (recognized in the DSM-5-TR since 2022)
• Generalized anxiety or panic disorder triggered by the loss
• Insomnia or sleep disturbances requiring ongoing medical treatment
• Grief-related cognitive impairment (difficulty concentrating, memory problems, decision-making deficits) documented by a provider

How to Request FMLA for Grief-Related Conditions

Step 1: See your healthcare provider. Explain how grief is affecting your ability to work — difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, panic attacks, inability to complete routine tasks. Be specific about functional impairments, not just emotional distress.

Step 2: Request FMLA paperwork from your employer's HR department. Absent extenuating circumstances, the employer must notify you of eligibility within five business days after your request and tell you if certification is required. Form WH-380-E is an optional Department of Labor form for your own health condition.

Step 3: Have your healthcare provider complete the medical certification. The form asks about the nature of the condition, its expected duration, and how it affects your ability to perform your job.

Step 4: Submit the completed certification to HR. Absent extenuating circumstances, your employer must provide a written designation notice within five business days after it has enough information to determine whether the leave qualifies. An authorized HR professional, leave administrator, or management official may contact your provider to authenticate or clarify the certification after giving you an opportunity to cure deficiencies; your direct supervisor may not contact the provider.

Intermittent FMLA: A Practical Option

You do not need to take FMLA leave in one continuous block when intermittent leave is medically necessary. It can cover treatment appointments or periods when a qualifying serious health condition prevents you from working; a difficult day by itself does not create FMLA eligibility.

Intermittent leave can help when treatment or symptoms require recurring time away from work. Estate appointments such as probate court may need to use a separate employer leave balance or policy; FMLA applies only when its medical criteria are met.

For foreseeable intermittent leave needed for planned medical treatment, your employer may temporarily transfer you to an available alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates recurring absences. This transfer rule does not apply to every intermittent-leave situation.

State Laws That Fill the Gap

California, Illinois, Oregon, and Vermont provide bereavement-specific leave under state rules; Maryland lets eligible employees use accrued paid leave for certain family deaths. Minnesota employees may use accrued ESST for funeral arrangements, a service or memorial, and related financial or legal matters after a family death. Washington has no general statewide bereavement-leave mandate for all employers; state civil-service employees covered by Title 357 WAC receive five paid days after a family or household member's death or qualifying pregnancy loss under WAC 357-31-250. Its PFML family-leave benefit may also provide up to seven calendar days after a child's death if the employee would have qualified for prenatal or postnatal medical leave for that birth, bonding leave within the first 12 months after birth, or bonding leave within the first 12 months after a child under 18 was placed in the employee's home or adopted. Do not assume state leave adds to the FMLA balance: eligibility and overlap depend on the state law and qualifying reason, and Illinois leave does not create unpaid leave beyond the FMLA limit.

The Returning to Work After Bereavement toolkit includes an accommodation request worksheet and communication scripts for navigating the FMLA process — including the exact language that helps your provider connect grief symptoms to functional impairment on the certification form.