Employee Leave

Records Building - 500 Elm Street, Suite 4100, Dallas, TX 75202
Phone: (214) 653-7638 • Fax: (214) 653-7608


Dallas County provides employees with a variety of leave benefits. Policies associated with each type of leave should be followed precisely. You must coordinate leave with your supervisor/manager and, in some cases, obtain approval (e.g., vacation leave).

Below is a partial list, including brief summaries of each leave type. A link to relevant policies can be found at the end of each summary paragraph.

Bereavement Leave

The County offers bereavement leave to provide time for mourning following the loss of an immediate family member. Time off for bereavement is charged to the employee’s sick leave accrual. Regular, full time employees may take up to 3-5 days of accrued leave for a death in the family, determined by the relationship of the deceased to the employee. Bereavement leave must be authorized by the employee’s immediate supervisor, and proof of death may be required. Sec. 82-504
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Catastrophic Sick Leave

This policy is adopted by the Dallas County Commissioners Court pursuant to the authority in Subchapter E, Section 157.071 et. al. of the Texas Local Government Code, to provide for a sick and vacation leave pool. This policy will enable County employees to voluntarily donate accrued sick and vacation leave to a pool for the use of and to help alleviate the financial hardship caused to an employee if the employee’s or the employee’s “eligible family member’s” catastrophic illness or injury forces the employee to exhaust all paid leave time earned and subsequently lose compensation from the County. This policy is not intended to and does not provide for paid leave after the exhaustion of the employee’s FMLA or Leave of Absence; rather, all sick pool leave must run concurrent with either approved unpaid FMLA or an unpaid Leave of Absence. Sec. 82-520
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Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The federally mandated Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable time off for certain qualified family and medical reasons. It provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave per year (within a defined 12-month period) when they need time off from work for a serious illness, or to care for an eligible family member who is seriously ill, a newborn or newly adopted child, or to care for a current member of the Armed Forces with a serious injury or illness. To qualify, the individual must have been employed by the county for at least 12 months during the last 7 years and must have worked at least 1,250 during the 12-month period preceding the commencement of the leave. Sec. 82-331 – 82-338 and 82-601 – 82-607
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Please note, as of November 11, 2019 our FMLA leave provider was re-branded from York to Sedgwick. Click here for more information.

For FMLA/LOA questions, please contact Sedgwick at 1-888-436-9530 or visit https://timeoff.yorkrisk.com/. If you have policy related questions, please contact your HR Representative.

Jury Duty

The County grants employees reasonable amounts of leave with pay to satisfy jury duty obligations within their civic jurisdiction. Sec. 82-502
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Leave of Absence

In certain situations, for designated reasons, a Leave of Absence (LOA) may be granted to regular full time employees; non-grant funded employees with more than 6 months of continuous service. LOA may be requested for a limited number of reasons, and is strictly a matter of administrative discretion. If granted, the employee’s position will be held open during the leave unless the position is eliminated due to a reduction in force or other significant business reasons during the duration of the leave. Sec. 82-471 - 82-478
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Military Leave

Dallas County offers military leave to employees who are members of a reserve unit of the armed forces and called for temporary active duty. Eligible employees are granted leave time up to fifteen (15) working days per federal fiscal year (October through September) without loss of salary or reduction in vacation or sick leave. In all cases, a copy of the military orders must be submitted for approval by the elected official/department head. Leave is not granted for voluntary military service. Sec. 82-421 - 82-424
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Sick Leave

Sick leave provides income protection for regular full-time employees who are absent from work due to their own, non-work related illness or injury, or for the care of an eligible family member. Eligible employees earn sick leave time at the rate of 3.692 hours per pay period or 96 hours per year. Employees must be in a paid status to earn sick leave. Sick leave may not be used in place of vacation; however, vacation may be substituted for sick leave. Sec. 82-361- 82-363
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Vacation Leave

Paid vacation time encourages regular full-time employees to renew themselves physically and mentally. Vacation leave also covers absences due to personal obligations, adverse weather conditions, and, in lieu of sick leave, illness or death in the immediate family. Eligible employees earn vacation leave at the rate authorized for their years of continuous service with Dallas County. Employees must complete their employment probationary period before they are eligible to use their accrued vacation. Sec. 82-381 – 82-383
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