Many companies recognize that bereavement is a difficult time for all those involved and so allow their workers flexible bereavement leave to help them recuperate and cope with their loss properly.
Since Target employs over 360,000 people in the U.S., you may be wondering about the details of Target’s bereavement policy such as what and who does it cover? Here’s what I’ve found out about it!
Target Bereavement Policy
Target offers both paid and unpaid bereavement leave of up to 3 days to workers who have suffered a loss for events such as funerals and will readings. Workers with at least 20 hours of weekly work and beyond their 90th day of work are eligible for this leave.
If you want to learn more about your Target bereavement rights, what relations the bereavement policy cover, and much more, keep on reading!
What Does Target Bereavement Leave Cover?
Target bereavement leave can be used for several events relating to death in the family or the passing of close friends.
You can use your Target bereavement leave in order to make funerals and similar arrangements for the deceased, as well as to attend funerals or end-of-life celebrations.
Additionally, Target will allow you to take bereavement time off if you need to be present at any will readings or documents relating to the deceased’s estate and make necessary arrangements.
Other than that, Target assists staff members who have lost close family members such as spouses with various important processes they have to complete.
These processes include updating their marital status, changing beneficiaries for life insurance and similar policies, providing any relevant tax information that is necessary, and more.
How Do I Get Target Bereavement Leave?
If you have suffered a loss and need to apply for bereavement leave at Target, you should submit a request to your store manager to authorize your time off from work.
In case you are unable to submit the request in advance, you can still get the leave as long as you submit the bereavement request to Target before 12 pm on Monday of the week of the pay run.
Your team manager is responsible for processing your request and passing it on to the relevant human resource department.
Who Is Included In Target’s Bereavement Policy?
Target is quite lenient in its bereavement policy and allows it to extend to both immediate family and distant family covering a number of relations.
It also provides definitions of both immediate and distant family to aid workers in identifying what they are entitled to during their bereavement leave.
Additionally, Target’s guidelines are not firm or fixed and instead are intended to be applied as a framework to process each individual worker’s situation with a level of care.
Target includes the following relations in the immediate family category:
- Spouses and partners
- Any form of parents (including step or in-laws)
- Children of any capacity (such as biological, step, foster, or stillborn)
- Siblings (whether full, half, or step)
- Grandparents
- Grandchildren
Here is the list of relations included in the extended family category:
- Aunts and uncles
- Nieces and nephews
- Close friends
As for distant family members, these include grandparents-in-law, uncles or aunts-in-law, and great-grandparents or step-grandparents.
Do I Need Proof For Bereavement At Target?
Target workers do not need to provide proof to receive bereavement leave in the event of a loss. Employees can request unpaid time off or personal leave for any bereavement they feel is necessary.
However, Target does possess the right to ask workers for documentation to verify their request for bereavement leave if Target feels it is necessary.
Am I Eligible For Target Bereavement Leave?
Most Target employees are eligible for bereavement leave, but there are different conditions that must be met before it can be granted.
One condition is that non-exempt Target team leaders and regular team members should have an average of 20 or more weekly hours of work.
Additionally, the employee must also have completed at least 90 days of work from the date of joining to become eligible for unpaid bereavement leave.
Non-exempt team members who work 20 hours or more per week are eligible for bereavement leave with pay after six months from their date of joining.
Unfortunately, with the exception of Target employees in San Francisco, part-time, seasonal, and limited team members at Target are considered ineligible for bereavement leave with pay.
Does Target Offer Paid Bereavement Leave?
Target can offer staff members who have suffered a loss either paid or unpaid bereavement leave, depending on their requirements.
This applies to Target members who need to attend events related to their bereavement during their regular working hours.
Those who have suffered a death in their immediate family are eligible for up to 3 full days of paid time off.
For the death of a close friend or relative, Target workers can have up to 4 hours of paid time off, with Target determining which staff members are entitled to it on a case-by-case basis.
Also, Target workers are limited to requesting paid time off for 4 events related to a bereavement in a 24-month period. After this, Target workers will only be granted time off on an unpaid basis.
Note that team members at Target who are unfortunately ineligible for paid bereavement leave are still entitled to take time off.
If a paid leave extends beyond a three-day period, the employee will be required to take a Personal Leave of Absence, which will be approved by the staff member’s leader and the relevant HR department.
Can Target Deny Bereavement Time?
Unfortunately, there are no laws in the U.S. pertaining to the right of workers to be entitled to bereavement leave, meaning it is up to the discretion of each individual employer.
So, Target will be within its legal rights to deny bereavement time to an employee. However, Target’s bereavement policy indicates lenience and ease of application for employees who have suffered a loss.
Additionally, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which Target adheres to, can also offer unpaid time off for family emergencies if necessary.
To learn more about working at Walmart, you can see our related posts on the Target break policy, if Target drug test, Target dress code policy.
Conclusion
Target offers a diverse and sympathetic bereavement policy to allow staff members adequate time to grieve and deal with events related to the loss.
Target’s bereavement policy does not require staff members to provide proof and relates to a variety of close, extended, and distant familial and platonic relationships as well.
Target can also provide some workers with paid bereavement leave, further giving peace of mind to those employees who have undergone a loss.
