What happened?

On March 22, 2024, Governor Kotek signed SB 1515 into law harmonizing Oregon’s overlapping and confusing set of leave laws between the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), and Paid Leave Oregon (PLO). Some Sections become effective on July 1, 2024.

What are the details?

We wanted to expand on our previous update regarding Oregon law regarding the simplification of OFLA, FMLA, and PLO.

• Oregon Passes Bill to Obliterate the Redundancies Between OFLA and PLO (VensureHR)

Key Bites

• Forward-Looking Leave Year Required: Starting July 1, employers must adopt a forward-looking leave year to calculate the OFLA leave an employee can take in a year. This refers to a continuous 52-week period starting from the Sunday before the leave commences. Employers not using this method will need to transition to it.

• Some Covered Reasons for Leave Eliminated: OFLA’s covered reasons for leave will be reduced to limit overlap with Paid Leave Oregon (PLO). OFLA will no longer cover the following reasons for leave:

• To care for an infant or newly adopted or foster child
  • To care for a family member with a serious health condition (except for caring for a sick or injured child at home)
  • To recover from, or seek treatment for, the employee’s serious health condition

• Employees’ leave entitlement under OFLA will be limited to the following:

• 12 weeks of annual leave for childcare due to sickness, injury, or public health emergency-related closures.
• 4 weeks of annual bereavement leave (2 weeks per death).
• 12 weeks of leave for pregnancy or childbirth-related incapacity.
• 14 days of leave per deployment under the Oregon Military Family Leave Act.

• From July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, OFLA will grant employees an additional two weeks of leave for legal procedures related to foster care or child adoption. This is over and above any other OFLA leaves. Starting January 1, 2025, this provision will fall under PLO.

• Rescinding Previously Designated OFLA Leaves: Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) mandates employers to follow procedures for withdrawing approvals for OFLA leaves, effective from July 1, 2024. Employers can use the Oregon Employment Department’s model notice for these communications. More details are available on the platform and the updated BOLI page.

• PLO AND USE OF ACCRUED PAID LEAVE: Employees on PLO leave can use their accrued paid leave with PLO benefits for full wage replacement. Employers may allow the use of accrued leave for over-full wage replacement and decide the sequence of different leave types of usage.

Business Considerations

• Employers should adopt a forward-looking leave year for OFLA, which is a continuous 52-week period starting from the Sunday before the leave commences.
• Employers should train managers on the changes introduced to ensure they are well-informed and can effectively manage their teams.
• Employers should notify employees who have already been approved for leave under OFLA for reasons that will no longer be covered as of July 1, 2024, that their leave will not be protected by OFLA after this date.
• Employers should inform employees that their leave may be covered by PLO and provide them with relevant contact information, in addition to notifying them about changes to OFLA.

Source References

• SB 1515

Resources

• Oregon Family Leave Act Resources
• PLO Model Notice

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