AN ACT providing state employees with paid leave designated for bereavement and following a pregnancy loss and appropriating funds for those purposes.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Effective July 1, 2025, Article 2 of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 126‑8.7.  Paid leave for pregnancy loss.

(a)        The State Human Resources Commission (Commission) shall adopt rules and policies to provide that a permanent, probationary, or time‑limited full‑time State employee shall be granted paid leave for pregnancy loss. For the purposes of this section, the term pregnancy loss means a miscarriage, an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure, a failed adoption arrangement, a failed surrogacy arrangement, or a diagnosis or event that impacts pregnancy or fertility.

(b)        The Commission shall adopt rules and policies to provide that a permanent, probationary, or time‑limited part‑time State employee shall be granted a prorated amount of paid leave for pregnancy loss on an equitable basis.

(c)        The rules and policies adopted by the Commission shall include the following requirements, at the minimum:

(1)        That the duration of leave for pregnancy loss shall be not less than 56 hours of paid leave.

(2)        That an employee requesting the paid leave shall submit a request for leave to process and address their own health needs and the health needs of their partners during the time period following a pregnancy loss.

(3)        A period of minimum service before an employee becomes eligible for paid leave under this section. The rules shall provide that the period of minimum service may be met by aggregating employment at any of the following:

a.         State agencies, departments, and institutions, including The University of North Carolina.

b.         Public school units that provide paid leave in accordance with this section.

c.         Community colleges located in this State.

(d)       The leave authorized by this section:

(1)        Is available without exhaustion of the employee's sick and vacation leave and is awarded in addition to shared leave under G.S. 126‑8.3, or other leave authorized by State or federal law.

(2)        Has no cash value upon termination from employment.

(3)        May not be used for calculating an employee's retirement benefits.

(e)        The provisions of this section shall apply to employees of State agencies, departments, and institutions, including The University of North Carolina; to public school employees; and to community college employees. The appropriate governing board, officer, or entity shall adopt rules and policies to award paid leave for pregnancy loss to employees that are substantially equivalent to those adopted by the State Human Resources Commission.

SECTION 1.(b)  Effective July 1, 2025, G.S. 126‑5(c19) reads as rewritten:

(c19)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, G.S. 126‑8.6 applies and  126‑8.7 apply to all State employees, public school employees, and community college employees. G.S. 126‑8.6 does and 126‑8.7 do not apply to employees described in subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (c1) of G.S. 126‑5. The legislative and judicial branches shall adopt parental leave and paid bereavement leave policies.

SECTION 1.(c)  Effective July 1, 2025, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Reserve for Compensation Increases the sum of one million eight hundred thousand dollars ($1,800,000) for the 2025‑2026 fiscal year and the sum of one million eight hundred thousand dollars ($1,800,000) for the 2025‑2027 fiscal year to fund paid leave for pregnancy loss as enacted in this section.

SECTION 1.(d)  This section becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies to requests for pregnancy loss leave occurring on or after that date.

SECTION 2.(a)  Effective July 1, 2025, Article 2 of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 126‑8.8.  Paid bereavement leave for death of immediate family member.

(a)        The State Human Resources Commission (Commission) shall adopt rules and policies to provide that a permanent, probationary, or time‑limited full‑time State employee shall be granted up to three consecutive workdays of paid bereavement leave on the death of any member of the employee's immediate family. For the purposes of this section, immediate family member means a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild. The term includes the step, half, and in‑law relationships.

(b)        The Commission shall adopt rules and policies to provide that a permanent, probationary, or time‑limited part‑time State employee shall be granted a prorated amount of paid bereavement leave on an equitable basis.

(c)        The rules and policies adopted by the Commission shall include the following requirements, at a minimum:

(1)        That an employee requesting paid bereavement leave submit a statement stating the name and relationship of the deceased.

(2)        A period of minimum service before an employee becomes eligible for paid bereavement leave under this section. The rules shall provide that the period of minimum service may be met by aggregating employment at any of the following:

a.         State agencies, departments, and institutions, including The University of North Carolina.

b.         Public school units that provide paid bereavement leave in accordance with this section.

c.         Community colleges located in this State.

(d)       The paid bereavement leave authorized by this section:

(1)        Is available without exhaustion of the employee's sick and vacation leave and is awarded in addition to shared leave under G.S. 126‑8.3, or other leave authorized by State or federal law.

(2)        Has no cash value upon termination from employment.

(3)        May not be used for calculating an employee's retirement benefits.

(e)        The provisions of this section shall apply to employees of State agencies, departments, and institutions, including The University of North Carolina; to public school employees; and to community college employees. The appropriate governing board, officer, or entity shall adopt rules and policies to award paid bereavement leave to employees that are substantially equivalent to those adopted by the State Human Resources Commission.

SECTION 2.(b)  Effective July 1, 2025, G.S. 126‑5(c19), as amended by Section 1 of this act, reads as rewritten:

(c19)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, G.S. 126‑8.6 and G.S. 126‑8.7 G.S. 126‑8.6, 126‑8.7, and 126‑8.8 apply to all State employees, public school employees, and community college employees. G.S. 126‑8.6 and G.S. 126‑8.7 G.S. 126‑8.6, 126‑8.7, and 126‑8.8 do not apply to employees described in subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (c1) of G.S. 126‑5. The legislative and judicial branches shall adopt parental leave and pregnancy loss leave policies.

SECTION 2.(c)  Effective July 1, 2025, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Reserve for Compensation Increases the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the 2025‑2026 fiscal year and the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to fund paid bereavement leave as enacted in this section

SECTION 2.(d)  This section becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies to requests for paid bereavement leave for deaths occurring on or after that date.

SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.