Paid Leave Oregon benefits started September 3, 2023. Paid Leave Oregon is administered by the Oregon Employment Department. Employees apply online at Frances Online Landing Page (oregon.gov). The Oregon Employment Department will approve or deny the leave and provide that information to employees and employers. As the employer, if an employee comes to you stating they need to take Paid Leave you need to document that they notified you and direct them to the website. The employee is responsible for submitting for leave.
Paid Leave Oregon is for all employees in Oregon that have earned at least $1,000 in wages. This includes owners that are the only employee of a business and receive wages reported on a W-2. Self-employed individuals who earn income through self-employment, rather than wages, are exempt from the program. Self-employed individuals can choose to enroll in Paid Leave Oregon.
What do you need to do?
- If you haven’t done so already supply all employees with the Oregon Paid Leave Notice Poster. You can send this to employees electronically or provide them with a paper copy.
- Update your employee manual to include a Paid Leave Oregon policy.
What types of leave qualify for Paid Leave Oregon benefits?
- Medical leave is necessary to care for your own serious health condition.
- Family leave is necessary to care for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Family Leave to care for and bond with a child during its first year with you (birth, adoption, foster).
- Safe leave for victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking.
A serious health condition is defined as inpatient care, a period of incapacity lasting 3 or more consecutive days requiring treatment of a healthcare provider, or a chronic health condition requiring periodic healthcare visits and causes episodic incapacity, pregnancy related care (before and after birth).
Family is defined as:
- Your spouse or registered domestic partner.
- You or your spouse’s or RDP’s child: biological, adopted, stepchild, foster child, ward, or a person in a relationship of in loco parentis.
- You or your spouse’s or RDP’s parent: biological, adoptive, stepparent, person who was foster parent or legal guardian, or a personal in a relationship of in loco parentis.
- You or your spouse’s or RDP’s sibling, stepsibling, or that sibling’s spouse or RDP.
- You or your spouse’s or RDP’s grandparents or grandchild including those individuals’ spouses or RDPs.
- Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with a covered employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
Employees that qualify for leave be able to receive up to 120% of the Oregon average weekly wage which will be set in July each year. The current average weekly wage is $1,224.82.
What can you require from employees?
- Employers may require 30 days’ advance written notice for planned leaves.
- If circumstances prevent advance notice, an employee must give oral notice within 24 hours of the start of the leave and must provide a written notice within 3 days after the leaves start.
- Employers may require employees to provide an explanation of the need for leave.
- Employees failing to give proper notice may have their first weekly benefit reduced by 25%.
What are employers required to do for employees on Oregon Paid Leave that have worked at least 90 days?
- Employees returning from Oregon Paid Leave must be restored to the same position, if that position still exists, “without regard to whether the employer filled the position with a replacement.”
- If the job no longer exists, the employee must be restored to any available equivalent position with equivalent terms and conditions of employment.
- Except employers with fewer than 25 employees many restore the employee to a different position with similar job duties with the same terms and conditions.
- Employers must retain health care benefits as if the employee is still actively at work.
Oregon Paid Leave benefits are in addition to any Oregon Paid (or unpaid) Sick leave, vacation leave, or other paid leave. Please refer to the Paid Leave OFLA-FMLA chart to coordinate all other leave.
An employer may permit an employee to use any accrued Paid Time Off or vacation while waiting for leave to be approved or to gross-up their Oregon Paid Leave benefit up to 100% of normal wage but cannot mandate other paid leave use during Oregon Paid Leave.
If an employee is entitled to workers compensation or unemployment benefits, the employee is disqualified from receiving Oregon Paid Leave.