Dear Dawg: We have an employee who wants to take “PAWternity leave.”  You read that right, Dawg. This is not related to paternity. It’s about his new cat. He claims that he needs some time—just one day—to get this feline “settled in” to his new surroundings.  He claims that enlightened employers have been providing this kind of leave for years.  Now we try to be as enlightened as the next district, but REALLY?  Plus, this guy is completely out of leave. So if he misses another day of work, we’re going to dock him.  Have you heard of this?  I figured if anyone has heard of PAWternity leave, it would be the Law Dawg.  SHEESH.

DEAR SHEESH:

Yes, the Dawg has heard of this, but only across the pond.  There are employers in England who provide this kind of leave. But I don’t think we want to model ourselves after the Brits.  What would be next: tea and crumpets in mid-afternoon?  References to “the loo”?  “God Save the Queen” instead of “I Pledge Allegiance”?  If you want to do this, I’m sure that the good folks at TASB will help you write a local policy to accommodate it. But the Dawg does not recommend it. And certainly not for cats.

DAWG BONE: PAW-TERNITY LEAVE IS A MATTER OF LOCAL DISCRETION.