Oregon has enacted legislation (House Bill 2005) that will provide eligible employees with wage-replacement benefits for family and medical leave beginning January 1, 2023. The program will apply to all employers (except federal) with employees in the state of Oregon.
Contributions:
The program will be funded with contributions by employees, employers with 25 or more employees, and self-employed individuals. Employers with fewer than 25 employees will not be required to contribute to the program, but they must still deduct and remit employee contributions. Contributions will begin in 2022.
Employee eligibility:
Employees are eligible for wage-replacement benefits after earning at least $1,000 in the base year (the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters of the preceding benefit year).
Use:
Eligible employees are generally entitled to up to 12 weeks of wage-replacement benefits in a year for:
- Family Leave:
- Medical Leave:
- Safe Leave:
Employees may qualify for up to two additional weeks of wage-replacement benefits for limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
Note: If an employee is also eligible for unpaid leave under ORS 659A.159 of the Oregon Family Leave Act, the total amount of leave available under ORS 659A.159 and House Bill 2005 is 16 weeks/18 weeks in a year, but no more than 12 weeks/14 weeks will be paid leave.
Under House Bill 2005, a family member is defined as an eligible employee's:
- Spouse or domestic partner;
- Child or their child's spouse or domestic partner;
- Parent or their parent's spouse or domestic partner;
- Sibling or stepsibling or their sibling's spouse or domestic partner;
- Grandparent or their grandparent's spouse or domestic partner;
- Grandchild or their grandchild's spouse or domestic partner;
- Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with an eligible employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
Protections:
The following protections apply only to employees who have been employed at least 90 days before taking leave.
Job reinstatement:
After returning to work after leave, an eligible employee is entitled to be restored to the position they held when they left, if that position still exists, without regard to whether the employer filled the position with a replacement worker. If the position no longer exists, the employee is entitled to be restored to any available equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.
For employers that employ fewer than 25 employees, if the position held by an eligible employee no longer exists, the employer may, at the employer's discretion based on business necessity, restore the eligible employee to a different position with similar job duties and with the same employment benefits and pay.
Note: The law includes a notice requirement for employers that hire a temporary worker or reassign another employee to fill in for an employee on leave. See the text of the law for details.
Benefits:
During leave, the employer must maintain any health care benefits the employee had as if the employee had continued in employment continuously. An eligible employee who has taken leave must not lose any employment benefits, including seniority or pension rights, accrued before the date on which the leave commenced.
Employee notice:
If the need for leave is foreseeable, employers may generally require the employee to give written notice at least 30 days in advance if possible. If the need for leave isn't foreseeable, the employee must give oral notice within 24 hours and written notice within three days of the start of the leave. An eligible employee who takes leave for domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking must give the employer reasonable advance notice of their intention to take such leave, unless giving the advance notice is not feasible.
Employer notice to employees:
Employers must provide written notice to each employee of the rights and responsibilities of eligible employees under the law. The notice must be in the language the employer typically uses to communicate with the employee. The state will make available a model notice that employers may use.
Recordkeeping:
Employers must maintain payroll records, including account records that document employee contributions and expenses, and employment records that reflect the total hours worked by all employees and the amount of leave taken by employees under House Bill 2005 for the current calendar year and the three prior calendar years.
Relationship to other leave laws:
Any family or medical leave taken under House Bill 2005 must be taken concurrently with any leave taken by an eligible employee under the OFLA (ORS 659A.150 to 659A.186) or under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for the same purposes. Note that not all types of family or medical leave taken under House Bill 2005 will be able to be run concurrently. For example, House Bill 2005's definition of family member includes a sibling, but the FMLA's doesn't. So, if an employee were to take leave to care for a sibling with a serious health condition, this couldn't count against their FMLA leave.
Retaliation Prohibited:
Employers are prohibited from:
- Denying leave or interfering with any other right to which an eligible employee is entitled under the law.
- Retaliating or in any way discriminating against an employee with respect to hire or tenure or any other term or condition of employment because the employee has inquired about their rights or responsibilities under the law
Compliance Recommendations:
Employers with employees in Oregon should review their policies, forms, practices, and supervisor training to ensure compliance with the new law.