HOUSE BILL NO. 3207 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE RUSH.
6309H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To amend chapter 285, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to employee bereavement leave for the loss of a pet.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 285, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 285.685, to read as follows: 285.685. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean: 2 (1) "Employee", any individual employed by an employer in this state; 3 (2) "Employer", any person, partnership, corporation, organization, or entity 4 employing ten or more employees within this state; 5 (3) "Pet", a domesticated animal kept for companionship including, but not 6 limited to, dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, and other animals legally allowed as household pets 7 in this state. 8 2. Upon the death of an employee's pet, the employer shall provide the employee 9 with at least three days of bereavement leave. At least one day of the leave shall be paid. 10 The remaining leave shall be unpaid unless the employer elects to provide additional 11 paid days. 12 3. An employer may require an employee to provide reasonable documentation 13 demonstrating the employee's eligibility for the bereavement leave under this section, 14 such as a veterinarian's certificate or other proof of pet ownership. 15 4. Bereavement leave under this section may be taken: 16 (1) Consecutively; or 17 (2) Nonconsecutively within thirty days following the death of the pet.
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 3207 2
18 5. Leave taken under this section shall not diminish or replace any other leave 19 available to the employee unless the employee voluntarily chooses to use other available 20 leave. 21 6. An employer shall not retaliate, discipline, or discriminate against any 22 employee for requesting or taking bereavement leave under this section. 23 7. An employee shall provide reasonable notice to his or her employer of the 24 need for bereavement leave unless providing such notice is not practicable. 25 8. The department of labor and industrial relations may promulgate all 26 necessary rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of this section. 27 Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created 28 under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies 29 with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 30 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested 31 with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, 32 or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant 33 of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall 34 be invalid and void. ✔
Statutes affected: