Leave of Absence: Child Involvement

With the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 and its subsequent state counterparts, one particularly important aspect of leave evolved - child involvement leave, often called school involvement or “small necessities” leave. The traditional concept of leaves has been dramatically altered by these small necessities leave laws, which allow for leave increments as short as one hour. The authorized reasons for taking such leave typically includes attending parent-child conferences or taking children for medical or dental appointments.

States without child involvement leave laws have no obligation to grant their employees leave to attend their children’s school conferences or activities. However, it makes sense to consider voluntarily allowing some form of small necessities leave to remain a competitive employer. Use this Leave of Absence: Child Involvement policy template to create a policy that fits the needs of your organization.