HB1173: HB1173 DeAndre Thompson Parental Bereavement Protection Act; enact

Georgia law currently has no statewide guarantee of bereavement leave for most workers. This bill, called the DeAndre Thompson Parental Bereavement Protection Act, would create that guarantee in three places: for public school personnel, for private-sector employees at companies with 25 or more workers, and for state government employees covered by the state personnel rules. Eligible workers would get up to three paid work days and ten unpaid work days of bereavement leave per year after the death of an immediate family member, defined broadly to include children, spouses, grandchildren, grandparents, siblings, parents, tax dependents, or those relatives' spouses. If the death was a homicide, suicide, or a combat death or missing-in-action status in the U.S. armed forces, or the family member is reported missing, workers could also take up to four work weeks of unpaid "extended compassionate leave." Employers could require reasonable proof, such as a death certificate or obituary, and workers must give 48 hours' notice when practical. Employers cannot punish workers for using or seeking this leave, and workers who are wrongly punished can sue within 180 days for reinstatement, lost pay, and attorney's fees. If enacted, the changes take effect under the Act's terms.

• Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 34-1-11) requiring private employers with 25 or more employees to give qualifying workers paid and unpaid bereavement leave and unpaid extended compassionate leave.
• Creates a matching new law (O.C.G.A. § 45-20-17.1) giving the same bereavement and extended compassionate leave rights to eligible state government employees.
• Amends the school personnel leave law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-851) so teachers and other school staff also get bereavement leave and extended compassionate leave.
• Sets specific leave amounts: up to three paid and ten unpaid work days for bereavement leave per year, and up to four work weeks of unpaid extended compassionate leave per year.
• Makes it illegal for employers to punish employees for using, seeking, or supporting another employee's use of this leave, and creates a lawsuit process with remedies like reinstatement and back pay.
• Directs the Department of Labor and the State Personnel Board to write rules implementing the new leave programs.

The bill affects private-sector employees at companies with 25 or more workers who have worked at least 30 hours a week for six months, state government employees under the State Personnel Board, and public school teachers and staff. It also affects the employers, school districts, and state agencies that must provide the leave.

Workers who lose a close family member would gain a legal right to paid and unpaid time off, something Georgia law does not currently guarantee for most private employees. Employers would face new scheduling and documentation obligations, and could be sued if they retaliate against workers who take this leave.

• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-851 to entitle school personnel to bereavement leave and extended compassionate leave, unless it would disrupt school operations.
• Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 34-1-11, defining 'immediate family member,' 'qualified leave activities,' and setting leave amounts and notice, documentation, and anti-retaliation rules for private employers with 25-plus employees.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 45-20-17.1, extending nearly identical bereavement and extended compassionate leave rights to eligible state government employees, with rules set by the State Personnel Board.
• Both new sections require employees to give 48 hours' advance notice when practicable and allow employers to request documentation such as a death certificate or obituary.
• Both sections create a civil lawsuit remedy, requiring suits to be filed within 180 days, allowing courts to order reinstatement, back pay, benefits, and attorney's fees.
• Leave must be used within set windows: 60 days for bereavement leave and one year for extended compassionate leave, and unused leave has no cash value upon separation.

1. 2026-02-05House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-03House Hopper (House)

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

• bereavement leave
• employee rights
• workplace leave
• school personnel policy
• state employee benefits