As the school year starts again, employees are faced with the challenges of balancing work and family obligations. One often stressful family obligation of working parents is the desire to attend a child’s school function during the working day.
Many states recognize the difficulties of working with school-aged children and have enacted laws to address the issue. These laws provide certain rights to employees to take time off from work to attend school-related activities.
While the laws in the various states differ, most provide a set number of hours annually for parents to attend school related events. The following states have school/parental leave laws:
- California (up to 40 hours)
- District of Columbia (24 hours)
- Illinois (8 hours)
- Louisiana (16 hours)
- Massachusetts (24 hours)
- Minnesota (16 hours)
- North Carolina (4 hours)
- Rhode Island (10 hours)
- Vermont (24 hours)
Most of the laws allow employees to take paid time off for school activities or permit employees to take unpaid leave. Employers who operate in states with school leave laws should be aware that parents may have the right to take time off from work to participate in a child’s school activities.
