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Governor Roy Cooper issued an executive order on Friday, November 1, 2024 providing bereavement leave for state employees who lose a family member or coworker.

“Balancing work with family responsibilities can be challenging, and we want state employees to have time to grieve when they lose a loved one,” said Cooper. “We continue to mourn those who lost their lives to Hurricane Helene, and this leave will be available to help state employees who lost family or coworkers to the storm.”

Employees will be eligible for up to 40 hours of paid leave following the loss of an immediate family member, including a spouse, child, sibling, parent or grandparent. Step, half and in-law family members are included, as well as any dependent living in the employee’s home.

The bereavement leave covers the loss of a loved one for any reason and is retroactive to September 27, 2024 due to Hurricane Helene. Any eligible employee who suffered a loss after September 27, whether due to the storm or other causes, will have access to the leave. Eligible employees have up to six months after the death to take bereavement leave.

Employees who lost a colleague will be eligible for up to eight hours of bereavement leave to attend a funeral or memorial service for their coworker.

“Executive Order No. 325 will automatically apply to Cabinet Agencies. All other state agencies and state universities are encouraged to adopt the policy. The Office of State Human Resources has developed a policy to implement the new bereavement leave,” stated a news release from Cooper’s office.

“Our people are our greatest resource and we’re pleased to add bereavement leave to the benefits we are able to offer state employees,” said Barbara Gibson, director of the Office of State Human Resources.

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