Download Leave for Parental Involvement in School Activities

Leave for Parental Involvement in School Activities
(Updated July 2009)
Ten states and the District of Columbia require that employers provide unpaid leave for eligible
parents or guardians to participate in their child's educational activities. Many of these statutes
permit or require the employee to use accrued paid leave (vacation, personal time, or
compensatory time) while on leave for school related activities. All the statutes require the
employee give the employer notice; some statutes specify how far in advance. Many of the
statutes require that the employee provide documentation from the school to verify the purpose
of the leave.
State Statutes that Allow Leave for School Activities and other Minor Family-Related Leave
• Massachusetts (24 hours/year)
Employers of 50 or more employees must allow employees a total of 24 hours of unpaid leave
per year to participate in children’s school activities or accompany children and elderly relatives
to doctor appointments. To be eligible, a worker must have been employed for at least 1 year and
have worked at least 1,250 hours in the year preceding the request. (Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 149 §
52D, effective Aug. 1998)
• Vermont (4 hours/month; up to 24 hours/year)
Employers with at least 15 employees must allow employees to take up to 4 hours a month (not
to exceed 24 hours a year) to attend a child’s school activities; accompany a parent, parent-inlaw, child, or spouse to a routine medical appointment; accompany a parent, spouse, or parent-inlaw to other appointments for that family member’s well being; and to respond to medical
emergencies regarding the employee’s parent, spouse, parent-in-law, or child. The employer
may require that leave be taken in a minimum of two-hour segments. The employee must make a
reasonable attempt to schedule appointments during non-work hours. To be eligible, employees
must have been employed for an average of at least 30 hours per week for one year. (Vt. Stat.
Ann. tit. 21 § 472a, passed 1997)
State Statutes that Provide Parents Leave to Attend School Activities Only
• Colorado (6 hours/month, up to 18 hours/academic year)
Employers with 50 or more employees must provide nonsupervisory employees 18 hours of
unpaid leave per academic year to attend school-related events. Part-time employees are entitled
to a prorated amount of leave. Leave must be taken in increments of no greater than three hours,
with a maximum of six hours per month. The employer may limit the employee’s ability to use
leave in cases of emergency, when it would endanger a person’s health or safety, or where the
employee’s absence would lead to a halt in service or production. “Parent” is defined as the
parent or person who has primary legal responsibility for the child. The definition of “employee”
excludes independent contractors, domestic servants, seasonal workers, and farm and ranch
laborers. (House Bill 09-1057, effective August 5, 2009 if no referendum petition is filed.)
• District of Columbia (24 hours/year)
All employers must grant parents a total of 24 hours of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to
participate in a child’s school-related events. “Parent” includes individuals who act as guardians
regardless of legal title and aunts, uncles, grandparents, and their spouses. “School-related
event” includes concerts, sporting events, meetings with teachers or counselors – as long as the
child is directly participating. The employer can deny the leave if it would disrupt business and
make production or service delivery unusually difficult. (D.C. Stat. § 32-1202, effective Aug.
1998)
• Illinois (8 hours/year; no more than 4 hours/day)
Employers with 50 or more employees must provide parents 8 hours of unpaid leave per school
year (not to exceed 4 hours in one day) to participate in a child’s school related events. To be
eligible, parents must have been employed for at least 6 months, must work at least half the
hours normally required for full time employment at that employer, and must have exhausted all
accrued vacation, personal, compensatory, or any other leave (other than sick or disability leave).
The parent must attempt to schedule the leave in a way that minimizes the disruption to the
employer. (820 Ill. Comp. Stat. 147/1, passed Dec. 1998)
• Minnesota (16 hours/year)
Employers of 21 or more employees must provide parents up to 16 hours of unpaid leave per
year to attend a child’s school activities that cannot be scheduled during nonworking hours.
Eligible parents must have worked for at least one year for that employer and must work half the
hours normally required for full time employment for that employer. The parent must make a
reasonable effort to schedule the school activity during non-work hours. (Minn. Stat. §181.9412,
passed Nov. 1990)
• Nevada (4 hours/school year per child)
Employers with 50 or more employees must offer the parent, custodian, or guardian of a child
four hours of unpaid leave per school year per child to attend school related activities or events,
or to volunteer at the child’s school. The leave must be taken in one-hour increments, and must
be agreed upon mutually by the employer and employee. Employers are prohibited from
terminating, demoting, suspending, or otherwise discriminating against employees who take
leave for a school-related event, or who attend school conferences or leave work when notified
of a child's emergency. Employees can file discrimination claims with the State Labor
Commissioner. (Nevada Assembly Bill No. 423, effective August 15, 2009; Nev. Rev. Stat. §
392.920, passed in 1989.)
• North Carolina (4 hours/year)
All employers must grant 4 hours of unpaid leave per year for a parent to attend a child’s school
activities. The leave must be taken at a time that is mutually agreed upon by the employer and
the worker. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-28.3, passed July 1993)
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• Rhode Island (10 hours/year)
Employers with 50 or more employees must grant up to 10 hours of leave per year for a parent to
attend a child’s school activities. Eligible parents must have worked for one year and must work
at least 30 hours a week. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-48-12, passed June 1999)
• Louisiana
Louisiana provides that employers may grant parents up to 16 hours of leave each year to
participate in classroom activities, if there is reasonable notice and an attempt to schedule leave
during non-work hours. However, there is no requirement for employers to grant this leave and
no enforcement or consequence if they fail to grant the leave. (La. R.S. § 23:1015.2, passed
1993)
States Statutes that Protect Leave for School Activities, But Do Not Provide Additional Leave
• California (40 hours/year; no more than 8 hours/month)
Employers with 25 or more employees at the same location must not discriminate or discharge a
parent or grandparent who uses 40 hours a year or no more than 8 hours per month of her
accrued leave (vacation, personal, compensatory time) or unpaid leave, if the employer provides
it, to participate in a child’s school or day care activities. (Cal. Lab. Code § 230.8, passed 1995)
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