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Ten Days’ Leave When a Family Member Is Injured or Killed in Service

An employee whose parent, child, grandparent, sibling or spouse is injured or killed while serving in the armed forces may take up to ten working days of leave per occurrence — unpaid, from an employer of any size.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

An employee whose parent, child, grandparent, sibling or spouse is injured or killed while serving in the armed forces may take up to ten working days of leave per occurrence — unpaid, from an employer of any size.

What it's worth: Up to ten working days per occurrence — leave without pay

  • The statute grants leave of absence without pay, so there is no cash value to publish. Its worth is the job you still have when you come back.
  • An employer may credit paid leave it already provides against this entitlement, which means the ten days are not necessarily ten extra days on top of what your contract gives you.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are an immediate family member of the servicemember.
  • Your home is in Minnesota.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: As much notice as practicable — the statute sets no fixed period
  1. 1Tell your employer as soon as you can. The statute asks for as much notice as is practicable rather than a set number of days, which cuts both ways — there is no minimum, but there is also no excuse for silence.
  2. 2Know how wide the family definition is. It reaches a parent, child, grandparent, sibling or spouse — grandparents and siblings are in, which is wider than many workplace policies assume.
  3. 3Count the limit correctly: up to ten working days per occurrence, not ten days a year.
  4. 4Expect it to be unpaid. The entitlement is a leave of absence without pay, and an employer may count paid leave it already offers against it.
  5. 5It applies to an employer of any size. The statute reaches any person or entity located or doing business in the state with one or more employees, including the state and its governmental subdivisions.
  6. 6If the situation is a death rather than an injury, ask about §181.948 as well — the Legislature put leave for military ceremonies in a separate section next door.
File with
Your employer
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThis is not a small-employer exemption statute. It reaches any employer with one or more employees, so the usual "we are too small for that" answer is not available here.
Worth knowingThe ten days are per occurrence, and the section is written around a family member injured or killed while serving in active service. It is not general bereavement leave and it is not caregiver leave.
Known gapThe section we read does not spell out a remedy if an employer refuses, and it does not state a reinstatement right in terms. If leave is denied, the enforcement question needs the employment standards side of the Department of Labor and Industry rather than this section.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.