HR1048: HR1048 General Assembly; adopt the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026; urge

This resolution does not change Georgia law on its own. Instead, it urges the General Assembly to introduce and adopt future legislation called the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026. That future law, as described in the resolution, would give parents up to six weeks of job-protected bereavement leave after the death of a child, while capping bereavement leave overall at two weeks per deceased family member and four weeks total. The described law would apply to employers with 25 or more employees, would not require paid leave (though workers could use accrued paid or sick leave during that time), and would include job protection so employees can return to the same or an equivalent position without retaliation. The resolution directs the House Clerk to send copies to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and relevant committee chairs for the 2026 session.

• Urges introduction and adoption of a future bill, the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026, rather than enacting any leave requirement itself.
• Describes a proposed law that would allow up to six weeks of job-protected bereavement leave for parents after the death of a child.
• Describes caps limiting bereavement leave to two weeks per deceased family member and four weeks total.
• Describes the proposed law applying only to employers with 25 or more employees.
• Describes the proposed law as not requiring paid leave, but allowing employees to use accrued paid, vacation, or sick leave during bereavement.
• Directs the House Clerk to distribute copies of the resolution to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and relevant committee chairs.

Working parents who lose a child, employees who lose other immediate family members, and employers with 25 or more employees who would be subject to the described leave and job-protection rules if the future legislation is adopted.

Because this is a resolution, not a binding law, nothing changes immediately for employers or workers. But it signals legislative interest in requiring larger Georgia employers to hold jobs open for grieving parents, which could shape a concrete bill later in the 2026 session.

• The resolution's operative clause urges introduction and adoption of legislation called the Georgia Bereaved Parents and Family Support Act of 2026.
• The described future law would provide up to six weeks of job-protected bereavement leave for the death of a child.
• It would limit bereavement leave to no more than two weeks per deceased family member, with a four-week total cap.
• It would apply only to employers with twenty-five or more employees.
• It would not mandate paid leave but would let employees use accrued paid leave, vacation, or sick leave during the bereavement period.
• It would include job protection and anti-retaliation provisions so employees can return to the same or an equivalent position.
• The resolution directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies 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
• child loss
• employment law