Time Away
Full-time employees who work at least 40 hours per week and partners and principals.
Part-time employees who work 20 hours a week or more: The benefit will be prorated based on hours worked, i.e., if an employee’s standard workday is four (4) hours, they would enter four (4) hours for FTO for a day off.
Interns, Temporary, and Seasonal Workers as well as project-based employees are not eligible for FTO.
FTO is not an additional form of wages and does not accrue based on years of service, services performed, or any other criteria. Instead, it is part of the firm’s promise to provide eligible employees with a flexible work schedule. As a result:
- There is no FTO balance to track, carry over, or save for future use
- There will be no payouts of FTO upon separation of employment
Employees are responsible for requesting and scheduling FTO. Employees are encouraged to plan FTO so that at least one of their breaks consists of five (5) consecutive days off during the year. Individuals who do not schedule and request FTO are assumed to not wish to utilize the flexibility provided by the program.
FTO taken for two (2) or more consecutive weeks will require coordination and advance approval from the appropriate partner or principal/managing partner to ensure adequate coverage of client and team matters.
FTO under this policy is not counted as hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime for hourly employees.
FTO cannot be used on an individual’s last day of employment, or to extend employment status beyond a termination date.
This policy does not supersede the company’s leave policies. For example, this policy does not apply to the following:
- Absences covered under the Family Medical Leave Act or similar state or local laws or identified in the Leave Programs.
- Absences during which an employee is eligible to receive wage replacement benefits under any short-term or long-term disability plan, or other Benefit Programs.
| 2027 Holidays | Dates | |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Friday, January 1 | |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 31 | |
| Independence Day | Friday, July 2 & Monday, July 5 | |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 6 | |
| Thanksgiving | Thursday, November 25 - Friday, November 26 | |
| Winter Break | Friday, December 24 - Friday, December 31 | |
| Floating Holiday | One day to use at employee’s discretion | |
Bereavement leave is paid time off provided to employees, partners, and principals when a member of their family passes away. This also includes pregnancy losses such as miscarriage or stillbirth, failed adoption placements, and failed assisted reproductive treatments. Forvis Mazars will grant all full-time employees bereavement leave up to five days (40 hours) per instance, with pay, to attend a funeral of a family member, to grieve a loss, to care for a partner experiencing one of these losses, and for other family obligations or needs related to the death. Part time employees can receive up to five days bereavement leave based on the amount of missed work time as a result of the death.
Employees must inform their direct supervisor or engagement executive prior to taking any bereavement leave. Partners and principals can provide notice of the need for bereavement leave to the managing partner.
Bereavement leave is paid at the employee’s base rate of pay at the time of absence for the number of hours the employee otherwise would have worked that day. Bereavement leave is not counted as hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime.
Forvis Mazars understands the deep effect a death can have on an individual or a family, therefore, additional time off through FTO or unpaid days may be approved. Additional bereavement leave beyond the five days may be approved by the managing partner in the event subsequent situations occur.
Bereavement leaves for individuals other than family members or the situations listed above can be requested and may be approved by the managing partner.
For employees in Illinois, additional leave may be offered under the Illinois Family Bereavement Leave Act, or “FBLA”. Employees who have worked at least 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months may take unpaid bereavement leave for up to 10 work days to:
- attend the funeral or alternative to a funeral of a covered family member;
- make arrangements necessitated by the death of the covered family member;
- grieve the death of the covered family member; or
- be absent from work due to (i) a miscarriage; (ii) an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure; (iii) a failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party; (iv) a failed surrogacy agreement; (v) a diagnosis that negatively impacts pregnancy or fertility; or (vi) a stillbirth.
A “covered family member” is an employee’s child, stepchild, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent.
Absences must occur within 60 days of the event to qualify for FBLA. Employees must provide at least 48 hours of advance notice if using bereavement leave, unless not reasonable and practical. In the event that multiple occurrences happen, an employee will be limited to 6 weeks of bereavement leave within a 12-month period.