Target Bereavement Policy (Know Your Rights)
Recognizing that bereavement can be a difficult time for all involved, many companies allow employees the flexibility to take bereavement leave to help them recover and cope with the loss.
Since Target employs more than 360,000 people in the United States, you might be wondering the ins and outs of Target’s bereavement policy, like what does it cover and who? Here’s what I found!
Target Bereavement Policy
Target provides up to 3 days of paid and unpaid bereavement leave for employees who suffer losses due to events such as funerals and will readings. Workers who work at least 20 hours per week and more than 90 days are eligible for this leave.
If you want to learn more about your Target bereavement rights, relationships covered by bereavement policies, and more, keep reading!
What does Target Bereavement Cover?
Target bereavement leave is available for a variety of events related to the death of a family member or the death of a close friend.
You can use Target Bereavement Leave to make funeral and similar arrangements for the deceased, as well as to attend a funeral or hospice.
In addition, Target will allow you to take bereavement leave if you need to attend and make necessary arrangements for any probate readings or documents related to the estate of the deceased.
In addition, Target assists employees who have lost a close family member, such as a spouse, with various important processes that they must complete.
These processes include updating their marital status, changing beneficiaries on life insurance and similar policies, providing any necessary relevant tax information, and more.
How do I get Target Bereavement Leave?
If you have suffered a loss and need to request bereavement leave at Target, you should submit a request to your store manager to authorize your leave.
If you are unable to submit your request early, you can still receive time off as long as you submit your bereavement request to Target by 12:00 noon on the Monday of the pay week.
Your team manager is responsible for processing your request and forwarding it to the relevant Human Resources department.
Who is covered under Target’s bereavement policy?
Target is pretty liberal with its bereavement policy and allows it to extend to immediate and distant relatives, covering many relatives.
It also provides definitions of immediate and distant relatives to help employees determine what they are entitled to during bereavement leave.
Additionally, Target’s guidelines are not firm or fixed, but are intended to be applied as a framework to handle each worker’s situation with a degree of caution.
Targets include the following relationships in the immediate family category:
- spouse and partner
- Parents of any kind (including step-parents or in-laws)
- Children of any ability (such as biological, stepmother, foster or stillborn)
- Siblings (full, half or step relatives)
- grandparents
- grandchildren
The following is a list of relationships included in the Extended Family category:
- uncle and aunt
- niece and nephew
- close friend
As for distant relatives, this includes maternal grandparents, uncles or uncles, great-grandparents or step-grandparents.
Do I need a bereavement certificate from Target?
Targeted employees do not need to provide proof to receive bereavement leave in the event of a loss. Employees may request unpaid or personal leave for any bereavement they deem necessary.
However, Target does have the right to require employees to provide documentation to verify their bereavement leave request if Target deems it necessary.
Am I eligible for Target Bereavement Leave?
Most Target employees are eligible for bereavement leave, but different conditions must be met before it can be granted.
One condition is that non-exempt Target team leaders and regular team members work an average of 20 hours or more per week.
In addition, employees must have completed at least 90 days of work from the date of joining to be eligible for unpaid bereavement leave.
Non-exempt team members who work 20 hours or more per week are eligible for paid bereavement leave six months after the date of joining.
Unfortunately, with the exception of Target employees in San Francisco, Target’s part-time, seasonal and limited team members are not considered eligible for paid bereavement leave.
Does Target offer paid bereavement leave?
Target may, upon request, provide paid or unpaid bereavement leave to employees who have suffered a loss.
This applies to Target members who need to attend bereavement-related events during normal business hours.
Those in the immediate family who die are eligible for up to 3 days of paid leave.
Target employees are entitled to up to four hours of paid time off for the death of a close friend or relative, and Target will determine which employees are entitled to this time off on a case-by-case basis.
Additionally, Target employees can only claim paid leave for four bereavement-related events in a 24-month period. After that, Target employees will only be able to take unpaid time off.
Please note that Target team members who unfortunately do not qualify for paid bereavement leave are still entitled to time off.
If the paid leave exceeds three days, the employee will be required to take personal leave, which will be approved by the employee leader and the relevant human resources department.
Can a target deny bereavement time?
Unfortunately, there are no laws in the United States regarding workers’ entitlement to bereavement leave, which means it’s up to each employer’s discretion.
Accordingly, Target will, within its legal rights, deny bereavement time to employees. However, Target’s bereavement policy shows that it is lenient and easy to apply for employees who suffer losses.
In addition, Target complies with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides unpaid leave for family emergencies when necessary.
To learn more about working at Walmart, you can check out our related posts on Target break policy, Target drug testing, Target dress code policy.
in conclusion
Target offers a diverse and compassionate bereavement policy that allows employees ample time to mourn and process bereavement-related events.
Target’s bereavement policy does not require staff to provide certification, and also covers a variety of close, extensive and estranged family and platonic relationships.
Target could also offer paid bereavement leave to some employees, further reassuring those who have suffered losses.
