SB241

Senate Bill 241 amends the Uniform Attendance and Leave Policy Act in Arkansas to include the death of an immediate family member as a qualifying event for catastrophic leave for public employees. The bill allows eligible employees to receive up to 40 hours of paid catastrophic leave within four weeks following the death of an immediate family member. It explicitly defines 'immediate family member' to include parents, siblings, spouses, children (including unborn, step, adopted, and foster children), grandparents, grandchildren, and in-laws. Unlike standard catastrophic leave applications, employees are not required to exhaust their personal accrued sick or annual leave before utilizing this bereavement leave. This leave does not carry over to the next calendar year and is not compensable upon retirement or termination. The bill also mandates that this leave runs concurrently with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when applicable.