Wednesday, October 28, 2026
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TotalSource - WFN (State Alerts)
Key Takeaways
Impacted Employers: All private employers with one or more employees.
Effective Date: August 1, 2026
Summary: Louisiana has enacted legislation requiring private employers to provide leave to employees who serve as organ donors or bone marrow donors. The leave may be unpaid.
Next Steps: Employers should review and update leave policies and procedures to comply with the new requirements, ensure any existing bone marrow donor leave policies remain compliant, and train managers on leave administration and the law’s anti-retaliation protections.
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The Details
Under the new law, a private employer must grant an employee an unpaid leave of absence to allow the employee to serve as an organ donor or a bone marrow donor if the employee requests a leave of absence in writing
The length of the leave provided must be "equal to the time requested by the employee or thirty consecutive calendar days." The law doesn't further explain how this duration requirement is to be applied. Employers may voluntarily provide a longer leave and/or pay employees during the leave.
The law also prohibits employers from taking adverse action against an individual for requesting or obtaining a covered leave of absence.
Note: Under another state law, employers with 20 or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid leave to an employee who seeks to undergo a medical procedure to donate bone marrow. This requirement remains in effect.
Next Steps
Employers should:
- Review and update leave of absence policies, employee handbooks, and related procedures to ensure compliance with Louisiana's new organ donor and bone marrow donor leave requirements.
- Train managers on employee eligibility, leave request procedures, and the law's anti-retaliation protections.
- Evaluate recordkeeping and leave tracking practices to ensure covered requests are properly documented and administered.
Employers with 20 or more employees should also confirm that existing policies continue to address the separate state requirement to provide up to 40 hours of paid leave for bone marrow donation procedures.