Leave for grieving parents? Worth a look

Daily Herald Editorial Board

Few events can be so devastating to a parent as the death of a child.

For many, the process of grieving and recovering from such a loss can make even the most mundane of life’s tasks seem daunting. It’s not surprising that going back to work after three days of bereavement leave, getting into the daily grind might be nearly impossible.

That’s the premise behind a movement to amend the federal Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 to add the death of a child to a shortlist of medical events that make workers eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off.

Kelly Farley of Aurora, who has suffered through the deaths of two children, is among a group of supporters pushing for the change.

“It seems like a no-brainer, right? It’s a huge gap,” Farley told the Daily Herald’s Marie Wilson last week. “You get time off for the birth of a child; why not for the death of a child?”

A compassionate idea? Yes, but not a slam-dunk. It certainly warrants further study.

As with similar legislation — even the one that created FMLA — what seems to be black and white on the surface quickly becomes shaded in gray upon closer examination. No shortage of complex issues will have to be sorted out.

For starters, there will have to be agreement on the definition of what constitutes a child. Should the death of a 30-year-old child be included? What about a stepchild? First trimester miscarriage? Stillborn during the third trimester?

Such a debate won’t be simple.

There are indications business will push back. Currently, FMLA applies only to companies with 50 or more employees.

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce argues the vast majority of employers do allow for time off for grieving parents; so, a mandate to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave could be a hardship.

Proponents say the burden would be minimal as most employees will never experience a child’s death, and not all of those who do will stop working for the entire three months.

Among their aims is to ease the rush to get grieving individuals back into life, and protect workers from inflexible employers. They cite cases of employees who lose their jobs because, thrown back into the workforce days after the death of a child, they had trouble keeping up with the demands of their job.

What no one can deny is a shocking event such as the death of a child triggers physiological, emotional and mental responses, and the body needs time to adjust to those responses.

Effective adjustment begins with employers who recognize this and strive to accommodate and assist employees who must face it. It becomes complicated to embed that recognition into a law guaranteeing 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but the potential benefits, and protections, are worth making the effort.