State employees may take paid emergency leave for a family death, and agency heads must grant leave when the employee requests it and shows good cause, subject to an exception for agency closures.
Sec. 661.902. EMERGENCY LEAVE. (a) A state employee is entitled to emergency leave without a deduction in salary because of a death in the employee's family. The death of the employee's spouse or of a parent, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, or child of the employee or of the employee's spouse is considered to be a death in the employee's family for purposes of this subsection. (b) The administrative head of an agency may determine that a reason other than a reason described by Subsection (a) is sufficient for granting emergency leave. Subject to the provisions of this subsection and except as provided by Subsection (c), the administrative head shall grant an emergency leave to an employee if the employee requests the leave and the administrative head determines that the employee has shown good cause for taking emergency leave. The administrative head may not grant an emergency leave to an employee under this subsection unless the administrative head believes in good faith that the employee being granted the emergency leave intends to return to the employee's position with the agency on expiration of the period of emergency leave. (c) An employee is not required to request an emergency leave if the administrative head of the employing agency grants the emergency leave under Subsection (b) because the agency is closed due to weather conditions or in observance of a holiday. (d) Not later than October 1 of each year, the administrative head of an agency shall report to the comptroller the name and position of each employee of the agency who was granted more than 32 hours of emergency leave during the previous state fiscal year, the reason for which the employee was granted the emergency leave, and the total number of hours of emergency leave granted to the employee in that state fiscal year. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 279, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 518 (S.B. 73), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.