Local woman pushing for longer bereavement leave policies in Massachusetts

BOSTON — A Boston woman is tackling the conversation of grief in the workplace. An online petition asking Governor Baker to mandate employers offer longer bereavement leave times now has over 2,500 signatures.

Laura Madaio’s father died in 2018 in a freak accident in Spencer. Well-known Worcester defense attorney John Madaio, 63, was killed when a crowbar smashed through his windshield.

"We were such a close-knit family that it impacted us more than we could have ever prepared for or known,” said Madaio.

John Madaio’s wife and two daughters were crippled with grief but say they were fortunate enough to have had compassionate employers who gave them as much time as they needed to heal.

Now, his youngest daughter, Laura, is turning her grief into advocacy, where she’s fighting for everyone to have been given the same opportunity to mourn the loss of a loved one as she did.

“Grief is not black and white and right now the policies are so black and white,” Madaio said.

About 89% of companies in the United States offer bereavement leave, but only for up to three days.

“It’s really insensitive and frankly insufficient to give someone three days,” Madaio said. “We were going through cleaning out his offices and his paperwork, beyond two weeks after. [We were] still dealing with insurance, beyond two weeks after. I just couldn’t imagine what it was like for anyone to experience, not just a sudden death but any death and only have up to three days.”

Over the past year, Madaio has written articles about the importance of bereavement and sat down to talk about it with the Wall Street Journal. Madaio said she was inspired to create an online petition after a woman in the United Kingdom did the same - that petition led to a British territory passing a law that allowed public workers up to two weeks of bereavement for the loss of a child.

“The grief set in for me after the services," said Madaio. “That’s when you’re back to work and that’s when you’re expected to be at full capacity.”

Some companies have started making changes with that in mind. Social media giant Facebook now offers employees up to four weeks of bereavement. Airbnb and Master Card have adopted similar policies, increasing their bereavement time for up to 20 days.

Madaio is hoping that eventually this movement will lead to employers providing more resources, training and workshops for people who are coming back from bereavement and still grieving.

Modaio says she’s had the full support and expertise of both her mom, Sue Modaio who’s been a Human Resources business partner for more than 30 years and her sister, Molly Lauring, who is an assistant district attorney in Worcester.

Together, the family hopes to continue John Madaio’s legacy of advocating for others.

“My dad was the best person in the world," said Madaio. "I don’t think anyone would tell you otherwise. He was the best friend, the best father, the best colleague. It’s hard to think about the future without him but if any good can come from this, it’s alleviating some of that stress of going through grief and going through this period of coping for other families.”

Boston 25 reached out to Governor Baker’s office for a comment about the petition but have not heard back.

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