Employees can take many different types of leaves of absence. As HR professionals know, they can access leave under federal laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). States and cities are passing and updating leave laws, too. This patchwork of leave laws means workers throughout the U.S. can take leave under multiple statutes, stacking or extending their time off.
At the same time, companies are wielding progressively generous leave policies as tools to attract and retain talent. Employers are creating new frontiers for leave as they adopt new programs not typically required by state or federal law, including sabbaticals, volunteer time, and mental health days.
As the leave landscape grows bigger and more complicated, employees are also more aware of leave as an option and requests are on the rise. Leave requests have increased for three years in a row, according to AbsenceSoft research. In 2025, two-thirds of HR leaders reported that request volume rose by more than 20%. The continual influx of leave requests has left some teams managing more than twice the number of cases they managed just three years ago.
Because more employees are taking time away from work, leave managers need to be familiar with the different types of leaves of absence so they can evaluate requests properly and keep their leave programs both compliant and competitive. This article highlights the most popular types of leaves of absence so your team can be prepared for whatever employees may request.
What Are the Different Types of Leaves of Absence?
Bereavement Leave
Bereavement leave policies allow workers experiencing the death of a loved one to take time off work. While bereavement leave is rarely mandated, some states maintain standalone bereavement laws or statutes that cover bereavement leave.
As for bereavement leave provided by companies, employers’ policies will vary depending on many factors. Organizations may offer paid or unpaid leave for any number of days. The leave may even extend beyond the death of relatives to include friends and, in some cases, pets.
Family and Medical Leave
One of the most common reasons employees need leave is to attend to their health or their families’ health. While the growing number of family and medical leave policies mean more employees can care for themselves and their loved ones, the policies often overlap. This can cause confusion among employers and employees.
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act grants employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year. To be eligible, employees must have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours of service within the 12-month period before their leave, and work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius.
If a welder at an auto manufacturer breaks her leg, for instance, she could take three weeks off to recover and return to her position, assuming her employer is covered by the FMLA and she was eligible for the leave.
Many employees have access to family and medical leave beyond the FMLA. State paid leave programs are multiplying as well. Oregon, for example, requires certain employers to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave for family, medical, or safety reasons.
As more states offer paid family and medical leave, tools like AbsenceSoft’s Leave Law Lookup can help you quickly check which statutes apply to your workforce. This tool can help you see whether a state-level leave entitlement exists for family and medical leave in addition to 12 other types of leave laws.
Crime Victim Leave
Crime victim leave allows employees to take time off work to deal with legal proceedings and other necessities following a crime event. The Arizona Crime Victim Leave law, for example, allows crime victims to take unpaid time off work to attend court dates.
It’s also important to note the growing prevalence of laws requiring employers to provide domestic violence leave, otherwise referred to as safety leave. Requirements vary, but these statutes typically allow employees time off to get medical attention, attend court, and plan or execute relocation. In some instances, family and medical leave laws like the FMLA may cover time off for employees dealing with health problems resulting from domestic violence.
Of course, individual employers may enact their own leave policies to support employees who have been a victim of crime. These policies may surpass those levied by states and localities by providing more time off and, possibly, paid leave.
Jury Duty Leave
Jury duty leave allows employees to attend jury duty when they are called upon by a court of law. Some states, like Alabama, require employers to provide fully paid leave for jury duty. Other states stipulate more complicated forms of payment. Alabama and other states also bar employers from requiring employees to use vacation days to cover jury duty.
Military Leave
Military leave is complex: It can refer to the leaves of absence members of the military take to serve, or it can refer to the leave provided to military families. It’s important to understand both concepts.
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act gives all uniformed service members employment and reemployment rights. In essence, this federal law requires employers to provide leaves of absence for employees serving in the armed forces.
But that’s not the only component to military leave. Military families may also have the right to leave under the FMLA. In addition to providing unpaid leave to workers dealing with health issues, the FMLA also makes room for leave for those facing urgent needs arising from a family member’s active military service.
These needs may include taking time away from work to attend military events, arrange childcare, manage financial and legal arrangements, attend counseling, and more. Employees may also take military caregiver leave under the FMLA to care for family members who became ill or injured in the line of duty.
Organ or Bone Marrow Donation Leave
When individuals donate bone marrow, they can expect to get back to work, school, and other activities within a few days. Those recovering from organ donation may need more time. In either case, organ or bone marrow donation leave gives donors time away from work to recover. Wisconsin, for example, requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to six weeks of leave for donors.
Parental Leave
While many family and medical leave policies include parental leave, many employers are carving out stand-alone policies that give families paid time off following the birth or adoption of a child. AbsenceSoft’s 2026 State of Leave and Accommodations Report found that 65% of organizations offer paid parental leave.
As these policies grow in number, they also grow more progressive, inclusive, and competitive. Policies often offer time for physical recovery after birth, in addition to bonding time for moms and dads alike. Companies are also beginning to offer time for both birthing and non-birthing parents, for instance, to include LGBTQ+ families.
On the forefront of parental leave is NICU leave, which 17% of employers offer. When babies arrive early or encounter serious health problems at birth, they’re frequently sent to the neonatal intensive care unit, or the NICU. Parents of NICU babies often camp out by their babies’ cribs and incubators as their little ones grow stronger. NICU leave makes their lives a little easier by providing additional time off work as they face an unexpected, unpredictable time in the hospital. Bobbie, an infant formula company, offers 16 weeks of paid leave for parents whose baby is in the NICU, on top of its typical parental leave package.
Caregiver Leave
Caregiver leave is specifically designed to give employees time off work to care for family members. It’s important to note that eligible workers can access leave to care for seriously ill family members through the FMLA and other statutes like it. And parental leave is normally designated for parents caring for new babies or recently adopted children.
Caregiver leave policies are specifically structured to provide leave for employees caring for children, parents, or other family members who are seriously ill or injured. It’s a popular type of leave among employees. Caring for an aging parent was the third most common reason for leave in a 2026 AbsenceSoft report. But only 29% of employers offer paid caregiver leave.
Some states like Colorado and Connecticut have enacted family leave insurance programs designed to provide workers with at least some pay while they take time off to care for family.
Pregnancy Leave
Parental leave policies often give working mothers time to recover from birth, but they typically don’t address the needs that arise leading up to baby’s arrival during pregnancy. Pregnancy leave bridges this gap.
Pregnancy leave typically offers birthing parents time off to attend doctor’s appointments, ultrasounds, and more. But there’s sometimes an element of accommodation in these policies, as well.
Consider the PWFA. This federal law, passed in 2022, requires employers to provide workplace accommodations for pregnant workers. This law overlaps with the ADA, which doesn’t consider pregnancy itself to be a disability but does consider some health conditions created by pregnancy to be a disability.
One in three HR leaders in a 2026 AbsenceSoft survey cited pregnancy-related PWFA requests as a top accommodation driver. Among accommodation requests, a third were related to pregnancy. Many of these accommodations take the form of leave. Pregnant workers may need time off to deal with symptoms or attend appointments. They may also need leave in the form of a reduced schedule or intermittent time off, which can be challenging for HR to administer.
Disability Leave
Disability leave gives employees time off work in conjunction with a disability. Disabilities may be short- or long-term conditions, and employers often create separate buckets of leave for each type.
The ADA is a federal law that requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. The act itself does not provide leave for employees, but it does require employers to provide leave as a reasonable accommodation in certain circumstances. The ADA may also require access to intermittent leave as an accommodation for workers with disabilities that come and go.
Under the ADA, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including eating, speaking, and breathing; walking, standing, and lifting; and working, reading, and communicating. These impairments can include physical disabilities, like blindness or deafness, and mental disabilities, like anxiety and depression.
Mental Health Leave
Mental health was the No. 1 driver of leave in 2023 and 2024. But in 2025, illness/injury recovery and bereavement surpassed it. While fewer employees are taking leave related to their mental health, mental health remains the top driver of accommodations, according to AbsenceSoft research. Employees are increasingly seeking at-work support and avoiding time off.
While this trend reduces the number of leave requests HR has to manage, it introduces another element to orchestrate: the interactive process. During the interactive process, HR, managers, and workers work together to determine the best form of support for an employee’s disability.
Navigate Many Types of Leaves of Absence With Ease
From parental leave to jury duty leave, the multiplying, overlapping types of leaves of absence challenge HR pros and leave managers.
Leave managers struggle to keep track of different types of leave, especially as intertwining laws levy different entitlements, requirements, and deadlines. That’s why it’s critical that HR teams don’t relegate leave management to spreadsheets and post-it notes. Leave managers need technology that can track leave laws, even as they’re continually updated by legislators. They also need a platform that can administer leave efficiently and effectively, while taking care of accommodations, too.
If you’d like to learn more about the trends defining modern leave management, download AbsenceSoft’s 2026 State of Leave and Accommodations report. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by leave management, or if you have questions about a specific type of leave of absence, schedule a demo with AbsenceSoft today.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A leave of absence is an approved period away from work, either paid or unpaid, that allows an employee to address a personal, medical, or family need without losing their job. Leaves can be required by federal or state law, such as the FMLA, ADA, or PWFA, or offered voluntarily by an employer as part of a competitive benefits package. As leave requests continue to rise year over year, having a clear, well-managed program is more important than ever. AbsenceSoft helps HR teams centralize and manage every type of leave in one place, so nothing falls through the cracks.
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The most frequently requested types of leave include medical and family leave under the FMLA, parental leave, mental health leave, bereavement leave, and caregiver leave. Disability leave and pregnancy-related leave under the PWFA are also on the rise. Because each type of leave carries different eligibility rules, timelines, and documentation requirements, AbsenceSoft’s built-in compliance engine tracks more than 200 federal and state leave laws and automates eligibility calculations so HR teams don’t have to manage it manually.
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Employees most often request leave by contacting their manager directly or reaching out to HR. In AbsenceSoft’s 2026 research, 44% of employees went to their manager first, which makes manager training a critical part of any compliant leave program. AbsenceSoft supports multiple request channels, including self-service portals that allow employees to submit requests, upload documents, and check their status from any device, reducing the administrative burden on HR while improving the employee experience.
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Federal laws like the FMLA provide unpaid, job-protected leave. Whether an employee receives pay during that time depends on employer policy, applicable state laws, or short-term disability coverage. Many employers are adding paid leave benefits to attract and retain talent, with paid parental leave, paid medical leave, and paid bereavement leave among the most commonly offered. AbsenceSoft helps HR teams administer both paid and unpaid leave accurately, including a payroll calculations module that coordinates company-paid and state-paid amounts to ensure employees are paid correctly and on time.
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The impact can be significant, both for the employee and the organization. Employees who have a poor leave experience are more likely to lose loyalty to their employer, look for a new job, or quit altogether. On the compliance side, mismanaged leaves can lead to Department of Labor investigations or costly litigation. AbsenceSoft helps HR teams stay compliant and deliver a positive employee experience by automating workflows, generating compliant documentation, and keeping every case fully documented in one secure system.