HR 1048: General Assembly; adopt the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026; urge

This resolution does not itself change Georgia law. Instead, it urges members of the General Assembly to introduce and adopt a future bill called the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026, which would give job-protected bereavement leave to grieving employees. The resolution describes what that future law should include: up to six weeks of job-protected leave for parents who lose a child, a general limit of two weeks per deceased family member with a four-week total cap, and coverage for employers with 25 or more employees. The leave would not have to be paid, but employees could use their own accrued paid leave, vacation, or sick time during that period. The proposed law would also include job protection and anti-retaliation rules so employees can return to the same or an equivalent job. Copies of this resolution would go to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and relevant committee chairs for the 2026 session.

• Urges (but does not itself enact) legislation called the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026 to create job-protected bereavement leave.
• Calls for up to six weeks of job-protected leave specifically for parents whose child has died.
• Recommends capping bereavement leave at two weeks per deceased family member, with a four-week total maximum.
• Recommends applying the future law only to employers with 25 or more employees.
• Recommends that the leave not be required to be paid, though employees could use their own accrued paid leave, vacation, or sick leave.
• Recommends job protection and anti-retaliation provisions so an employee can return to the same or an equivalent position.

The resolution's recommendations would affect employees experiencing the death of a child or other immediate family member, and employers in Georgia with 25 or more employees who would need to grant this leave and protect the employee's job under the future bill it describes.

Because this is a resolution rather than an enacted law, it changes nothing immediately. But it signals legislative interest in requiring Georgia employers with 25 or more workers to hold a grieving employee's job open for weeks after a death in the family, without mandating pay during that time.

• The resolution's operative clause urges introduction and adoption of the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026, rather than enacting any requirement directly.
• The described future law would offer up to six weeks of job-protected leave for parents after a child's death.
• It would limit leave to two weeks per deceased family member and cap total leave at four weeks.
• It would apply only to employers with 25 or more employees.
• It would not require paid leave but would let employees use accrued paid leave, vacation, or sick leave during the bereavement period.
• It would include anti-retaliation and job-protection provisions guaranteeing return to the same or an equivalent position.
• The Clerk of the House is directed to send copies of the resolution to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and relevant committee chairs for the 2026 session.

1. 2026-01-29House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-27House Hopper (House)

• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)Primary sponsor
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)

• bereavement leave
• workplace policy
• family leave
• employment law
• child loss