Executive Order Grants Leave for State Employees Who’ve Lost Family or Colleagues, Including to Hurricane Helene

RALEIGH, NC -- On Nov 1st, Governor Roy Cooper issued an Executive Order 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,” Governor Cooper said. “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.

“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.

Governor Cooper’s administration has previously extended paid parental leave and personal observance leave to state employees. Additional types of leave are also available to state employees impacted by Hurricane Helene, including for those whose workplaces or homes were damaged by the storm. All state employees also have access to additional community service leave to volunteer with storm recovery efforts.

Last week, Governor Cooper announced his budget recommendation to help Western North Carolina rebuild stronger. Governor Cooper recommends an initial $3.9 billion package to begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, homes, businesses, schools, and farms damaged during the storm. Initial damage estimates are $53 billion, roughly three times Hurricane Florence estimates in 2018 and the largest in state history.

Read the Executive Order here.