Effective July 1, 2025, all Indiana employers, both public and private, will be required to comply with a new state law. This law grants job-protected, unpaid time off to employees to attend certain school-related meetings involving their children, ensuring employees can participate in educational discussions without fear of retaliation.
Key provisions of the law include the following:
Protected Absences
Employers may not take adverse employment action against employees who are absent from work to attend an attendance conference under IC 20-33-2.5 or a case conference committee to develop, review and revise the educational program and services for a student with disabilities. These meetings must relate to the employee’s biological, adopted, foster, or stepchild.
Employee Responsibilities
To be eligible for protection, employees must:
- Provide their employer with at least five (5) days’ advance notice of the meeting.
- Limit the absence to the time reasonably necessary to attend and travel to and from the meeting.
- Submit documentation confirming their attendance.
- Make a reasonable effort to schedule the meeting as a virtual conference when possible.
Limitations and Exceptions
While the law provides job protection, it does not require employers to pay employees for time spent attending or traveling to these meetings. Employers may take adverse action under the following conditions:
- The employee attends more than one (1) qualifying meeting in a calendar year, indicating that while the law does not explicitly limit leave to a single occurrence, an employer may invoke this exception to effectively restrict protected leave to one meeting per year.
- The time away from work to attend or travel to and from exceeds what is reasonably necessary; and
- The employee fails to provide the required notice.
Documentation
Employees may be required to provide documentation of attendance to the employer which can be obtained from the school either by the employee or the employer upon request.
Next Steps for Employers
Employers should take the following steps to prepare for compliance by July 1, 2025:
- Ensure employee handbooks reflect this new category of job-protected leave.
- Educate supervisors and human resource staff on the scope and limitations of the law.
- Establish clear procedures for requesting and verifying qualifying absences.
- Communicate expectations to employees, including documentation and scheduling requirements.
- Review disciplinary procedures to ensure that any employment actions are compliant with the new protections.
