Question: A staff member has requested time off to participate in activities at their child’s school. Am I required to approve this request for time off?
Answer: Maybe, depending on the size of your company and the reason for the leave request.
Employers who employ 25 or more employees at the same location must allow eligible employees to take up to 40 hours of unpaid leave each year for participation in “school-related activities” or to deal with a school or childcare provider emergency.
- School-related activities include finding, enrolling, or reenrolling the child in a school or with a licensed childcare provider, or to participate in school or childcare provider activities.
- An “emergency” means that the employee’s child cannot remain in school or at the childcare provider. This includes the following reasons: there is a behavioral or disciplinary problem; there is a closure or the school or provider is unexpectedly unavailable; there has been a natural disaster such as a fire, earthquake, or flood; or the school or provider has requested that the child be picked up or has an attendance policy that prohibits the child from attending or requires the child to be picked up.
To be eligible for leave under the above scenarios, the employee must be a parent, guardian, stepparent, foster parent, grandparent, or a person who stands in place of a parent, to a child or children of kindergarten age or a grade between 1 and 12. If more than one parent of a child is employed by the same employer at the same location, the parent who first gave notice to the employer is entitled to take leave, but an employer may approve the other parent’s leave.
The employee must provide the employer with reasonable notice before a planned absence. If the time off is needed for an emergency reason listed above, employees are required to give notice as soon as possible.
At the request of an employer, an employee must provide documentation from the school or childcare provider as proof that the employee participated in the activities on a specific date and time. Documentation is whatever written verification the school or childcare provider deems appropriate and reasonable.
Time off for these activities may not exceed 8 hours in any calendar month.
Employees must use existing vacation, personal leave, or paid time off (PTO) to participate in activities of the child’s school or childcare provider unless otherwise provided by a collective bargaining agreement. However, the employee may also use unpaid time off to participate in these activities if the employer provides it.
Moreover, all employers (regardless of size) may need to provide with time off to attend a child’s suspension/expulsion meeting or to comply with a school’s suspension/expulsion requirements. The employee must give their employer reasonable notice of the need to take time off for this purpose. In addition, employees may be entitled to leave to care for a child’s illness or injury.
Employers should make sure their Human Resources personnel, managers, and supervisors are aware of the available school-related leaves to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Employers with specific questions about these leaves may also contact their legal counsel.