Bereavement / Funeral Leave

Two people sitting on bench crying and consoling each other

Quick Information regarding bereavement leave:

  • If you need 3 days or less of bereavement leave, just tell your supervisor and mark it on your timesheet.
  • If you need more than 3 days, you must file a claim with The Standard to protect your leave, or use your paid time off (like sick or vacation) if your supervisor agrees.
  • OFLA leave is unpaid, so you have to use your paid time off while on OFLA.

Paid bereavement Leave:

The County provides three (3) days of paid bereavement leave due to the death of a family member. 

Unless defined differently in a collective bargaining agreement, family member means a spouse, domestic partner, parents, child, sibling, stepsibling, grandparents, grandchild, stepchild, stepparents, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and any individual related by blood or affinity whose close relationship with an employee is equivalent to a family relationship. A request to use paid bereavement leave for the death of an individual outside the immediate family is subject to approval by the department director. 

The three paid leave days will not count against accumulated sick or vacation balances and must be used before taking unpaid bereavement leave.

Unpaid bereavement leave:

The Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) provides unpaid protected leave for bereavement purposes. If an employee needs more than three days of bereavement leave, they should file a claim for bereavement leave with the County’s third-party administrator. 

Under OFLA, an employee gets two weeks of bereavement leave per family member, up to two events (a total of four weeks) per leave benefit year. The three days of paid leave count as OFLA-allowed leave. 

An employee taking OFLA bereavement leave must use their other accrued paid leaves (such as sick time or vacation) while on OFLA bereavement leave. 

For more information, contact leavedamin@clackamas.us or visit the leave website