Wayne County board adopts tiered bereavement leave policy, schedules second reading

The Wayne County Board of Education voted to adopt a new bereavement leave policy that creates tiered paid leave for employees and allows use of accrued sick or vacation leave for additional time off. The motion to accept the policy was made by Mr. Martin and seconded by Ms. Van Fleet; the board voted in favor by voice vote.

Under the adopted language, employees receive three paid days per occurrence for the death of an employee’s spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, stepparent, stepchild or stepsibling. One paid day per occurrence is provided for grandparents, uncle, aunt, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law to attend funeral services. A staff presenter told the board the policy requires bereavement leave to be taken within a reasonable time after the death.

Board members noted 3 days may be insufficient for some circumstances. "Anybody that's lost a spouse ... 3 days is not gonna be enough, but at the same time, at least that is some help," one board member said. The policy includes language permitting employees to use accrued sick or vacation leave in addition to the bereavement days.

After adopting the policy, a member recommended a second reading at the August meeting so additional board members could review the language; the board scheduled a second reading for August. The vote on final adoption was recorded as a yes voice vote; no opposition was recorded on the meeting record.

Board members said the policy was developed after reviewing multiple districts and other employer models; the board asked staff to confirm implementation details ahead of the second reading.