August 4, 2025
If it feels like navigating state leave laws is getting harder each year, you’re not imagining it. The U.S. leave law landscape is shifting fast, and employers are finding it difficult to keep up.
While federal leave laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provide a baseline for unpaid, job-protected leave, they don’t cover every life situation employees face. To better support the needs of today’s workforce, many states are enhancing existing federal laws with their own programs, like implementing Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) in addition to FMLA.
But some states aren’t just building on the basics – they’re introducing entirely new types of leave for employee situations that, until now, haven’t been recognized or supported. Many states have been implementing new leave types like bereavement leave, neonatal care leave and safe leave to better support employees through life’s challenging moments.
So what do these new leave types cover, and how will they impact employers with operations in multiple states?
Bereavement leave
With bereavement leave, employees are given time off to grieve, attend funerals and handle legal matters after the loss of a loved one. While some employers have their own bereavement leave policies, there’s no federal law requiring them to provide it. This means that when employees need time off after someone passes away, they may have to use personal leave, take PTO or even be denied time off altogether.
However, that’s starting to change. In 2014, Oregon became the first state to mandate bereavement leave among its employers. Since then, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington have followed suit by requiring either unpaid bereavement leave or paid bereavement leave as part of their paid sick leave programs.
It’s a meaningful step forward for employees, but it also creates a new challenge for employers. Each state’s bereavement laws vary in the time they allow, the relationships they cover, the type of documentation required and whether the leave is paid or unpaid. For multi-state employers, keeping up with these differences can quickly become a compliance headache.
Neonatal care leave
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Colorado will become the first state to offer paid leave for parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This new benefit – called neonatal care leave – is an extension of the state’s family and medical leave insurance program and adds an extra 12 weeks of paid leave.
This move is a powerful recognition of the emotional and logistical challenges families face during NICU stays, and it may mark the beginning of a broader trend. For instance, Illinois recently passed legislation for unpaid neonatal leave, which is currently pending the governor’s signature.
While these are exciting developments, they also throw a compliance curveball for employers. Even if other states don’t follow Colorado or Illinois’ lead, multi-state employers must still adapt their policies and systems to accommodate neonatal care leave.
Safe leave
Safe leave is another leave type that’s quickly gaining traction. This type of leave gives employees time off to deal with issues related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. As of 2025, nearly half of all states offer some form of safe leave, with more expected to follow.
While we’re seeing more states adopt safe leave, many are also expanding what it covers and how it can be used. For example, Washington’s SB 5101 just recently extended safe leave to victims of hate crimes. In other states, employees can now use safe leave for additional needs like counseling, relocation services, legal assistance and safety planning. Some states have also expanded eligibility, allowing employees to take safe leave not just for themselves, but to support a child, spouse or parent who is a victim.
States are often implementing this leave as part of other statutory leaves like family, medical and military leave. This trend is a huge win for employee well-being, though it also adds another layer of complexity for employers – especially those managing safe leave across multiple jurisdictions.
Expanded family definitions
As new leave types emerge, states are also rethinking who qualifies as “family” when it comes to taking protected time off. In the past, most leave laws only considered family to be immediate members like spouses, parents and children. However, some states are now adopting more inclusive definitions that better reflect modern family and caregiving relationships.
In recent years, states like California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont and Washington
have added a “blood and affinity” relationship under their paid or unpaid state leave laws. While each state defines it differently, a blood and affinity relationship generally includes:
- People who live in the same household
- Those with caregiving relationships
- Individuals considered “like family,” even without legal or blood ties
By expanding who qualifies as family, it makes it easier for employees to take leave to care for the people who matter most to them – even if those relationships don’t fit into traditional categories. As more states adopt inclusive family definitions, employers will face even more complexity and risk in administering leave.
What this means for employers
With so much variation from state to state, employers are left navigating a compliance maze. Maintaining consistent, compliant leave policies is no small feat when eligibility rules, qualifying events, leave durations, pay structures and family definitions change frequently.
When thinking about compliance, multi-state employers should ask themselves:
- Do our current policies align with the latest state requirements?
- Are we offering equitable benefits across all employee locations?
- How do we manage leave types that only apply in certain states?
With so much to consider, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s why many employers turn to us at Sedgwick for help managing it. With our integrated leave management solution, we can seamlessly administer both common and emerging leave types across multiple jurisdictions – bringing efficiency, compliance and better outcomes to every program. With our team handling the complexity, employers spend less time worrying about compliance and more time focusing on what they do best.
Looking ahead
Managing workforce absence today isn’t just about sick days and FMLA. It’s about navigating a growing patchwork of leave laws that help support employees through different life challenges.
As the leave landscape continues to evolve, multi-state employers can no longer rely on just their HR team to stay compliant. They need a partner like Sedgwick who understands the nuances of state leave laws and how they impact internal policies. With a flexible approach and the right support, employers can stay ahead of changing legislation, maintain compliance and keep caring for their employees in the moments they need it most.
To learn how Sedgwick can support your absence management program, click here.
