Oregon Protected Leave Attorneys

Under Oregon law, virtually all employees in Oregon are entitled to accrue sick leave time.  Generally, sick leave accrues at a rate of one hour of sick leave time per 30 hours worked.  This is true even if the employee only works part-time, and even for Oregon employees whose employers are located outside of Oregon.  If the employer has at least 10 employees in Oregon, or 6 employees in Portland, the sick leave time must be paid time off.  Smaller employers must still provide protected sick leave time, but the time off does not have to be paid.

Oregon employees can use sick time for personal illness or injury, to care for a family member who is sick or injured, to attend or take a family member to medical appointments (including preventive care appointments), to care for or bond with a new baby or a newly adopted or new foster child, to recover from a more serious medical condition that renders the employee unable to work, to take safety measures from domestic violence or sexual assault, for bereavement due to the death of a family member, or in the event of a public health emergency. Employees can use Oregon sick leave to cover part-day or full-day absences.

Employers who are required to provide paid sick leave must pay the employee for any sick time used at the ordinary rate of pay and must pay the sick leave time on pay day for the pay period in which the time off is used. However, Oregon law doesn’t require employers to pay additional amounts for tips or gratuities the employee might have made if they had worked the shift. Employers cannot require an employee to find shift coverage when using Oregon sick leave.

Employers in Oregon can have policies that provide more sick time than required by law, but they cannot set up policies that provide for less sick time. If an employer provides paid vacation or other time off that provides at least as much time as the sick leave law requires, the employer can comply with the law simply by following its own policies. Employers can also have policies that limit or forbid the use of sick time until at least the 91st day of employment, although employees still continue to accrue sick time for time worked during that period. Oregon employers can also limit the total amount of sick leave employees can use to 40 total hours per year, and can also require employees to provide a doctor’s note or other documentation for some types of absences of more than three consecutive days.

Unused Oregon sick leave time generally “rolls over” to the following year, up to a maximum of 80 hours. Employers can choose to “front-load” sick leave by providing a full 40 hours of sick leave time at the beginning of the year, or use an “accrual method” of adding one hour of sick leave per 30 hours worked. Employers in Oregon are required to notify employees of their available sick leave time at least once every four months. Employers do not have to pay out unused sick time at the end of employment, but must pay it timely on payday when it is requested and used.

It is illegal in Oregon to discriminate or retaliate against employees for asking about their rights to use sick leave or for using sick leave to which they are entitled. Employees who have been denied the use of sick time, denied sick leave pay, or who have been wrongfully fired or have suffered retaliation for asking about or using sick leave time may have legal claims against the employer for money damages, legal costs and fees, and other remedies. Learn more about retaliation protections.

The Oregon Paid Family Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) and the Oregon Family Medical Leave Act (OFLA) provide two more types of personal and family medical leave time that are available to covered employees in Oregon. Both laws provide qualifying employees with up to 12 weeks of protected leave time, which can be extended in some cases if the employee requires additional leave for a pregnancy-related health condition. However, not all employees are covered by both laws, and not all of the same reasons for medical or family leave are covered by both laws. Which laws protect your right to medical or family leave can depend on your earnings or length of time in job, the size of the employer, and the reason for using the protected leave. Consult a family leave attorney at Schuck Law for guidance.

In most circumstances, employers must restore employees to their original jobs, schedules, and salary or wage rate at the end of the protected leave. Both Oregon PFMLA and OFLA provide job protection for employees who qualify, and both laws provide protection from retaliation.

Oregon employees who earned at least $1,000 in the past “base year” are entitled to use Oregon Paid Family Medical Leave (PFMLA). The State of Oregon determines the employee’s eligibility and the amount of the paid benefit, not the employer. However, employees can use any available paid sick time or other paid time off available through their jobs to supplement paid leave benefits that are less than their ordinary salary or wages.

Oregon PFMLA can be taken for any combination of personal medical leave, family leave, or safe leave. Personal medical leave is time off due to the employee’s own serious health condition. Family leave is time off to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to care for and bond with a new baby or a new adopted or foster child. Safe leave is time off for medical, legal, moving, or other services for the employee or the employee’s minor child due to sexual assault, domestic violence, or acts that constitute stalking or harassment under Oregon law.

Employees are entitled to use up to 12 weeks of Oregon PFMLA per year. The total amount of leave and benefits can be extended in some circumstances if the employee needs to take medical leave time for a pregnancy-related disability and also needs leave for another qualifying reason.

Employees who have worked for their current employers for at least 90 days are entitled to job protection when using Oregon PFMLA. That means that employees returning to work after Oregon PFMLA leave are generally entitled to return to the same job, with the same pay, benefits, and schedule. If the employee’s job no longer exists, employers with at least 25 employees must offer an equivalent position if one is available. A job may no longer exist for reasons like general downsizing – employers are not allowed to replace employees with a worker who merely “covered” the job duties during the employee’s protected absence.

Oregon PFMLA leave cannot be used in part-day increments to cover part-day absences from work. It must be used and counted in full-day amounts. However, employees who also qualify for Oregon Family Medical Leave (OFLA) or additional time off under the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may be entitled to use unpaid time, paid sick time, or other paid time off on a part-day or reduced-schedule basis.

Employers are required to permit qualifying employees to use their leave time and cannot fire or retaliate against an employee for requesting or asking about Oregon PFMLA. Employers are also are generally required to maintain employee benefits like health insurance during the leave.

It is illegal in Oregon to discriminate or retaliate against employees for asking about their rights to use Oregon PFMLA or for using Oregon PFLMA.

Employees who have been wrongfully fired or demoted for using Oregon PFMLA leave, or who suffered retaliation for asking about or using PFMLA leave, may have legal claims against the employer for money damages, legal costs and fees, and other remedies. Learn more about retaliation protections.

Some employees are also entitled to additional medical leave time under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA). Oregon enacted this law long before the Oregon Paid Family Medical Leave Act (Oregon PFMLA), but the law has been substantially changed and updated since the paid leave program began. Beginning in July 2024, qualifying employees can take OFLA leave time in addition to Oregon PFMLA leave time. To be eligible for OFLA leave, you must have worked an average of 25 hours a week for the same employer for at least 180 days, and the employer must have at least 25 employees during at least 20 weeks of the previous year.

OFLA requires employers to provide covered employees with an unpaid leave of absence of up to 12 weeks per 12-month period for qualifying medical, family care, and child-care reasons. The total amount of leave can be extended in some circumstances if the employee needs to take medical leave time for a pregnancy-related disability and also needs medical leave for another qualifying reason.

Employees who are covered by OFLA are entitled to take up to 12 total weeks of leave time to care for their own serious health condition if the condition prevents the employee from working, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to care for a new baby or a newly-adopted child or to make adoption or foster care arrangements, to care for a sick child at home (whether the condition is serious or not), or in the event of school and child care closure due to a public health emergency. Covered employees may use up to four weeks of their total OFLA leave time for bereavement leave due to the death of a family member.

Unlike Oregon Paid Family Medical Leave (PFMLA), employees can use OFLA leave on an intermittent, part-day, or reduced schedule basis, up to the total available amount of 12 weeks. Employers can only count the hours an employee actually uses for OFLA leave towards the employee’s total amount of OFLA leave time.

Employers are not required to pay wages for time used for OFLA leave, but are generally required to maintain employee benefits like health insurance. Employees can use any accrued paid vacation, paid sick time, or other paid time off while on OFLA leave.

Like the Oregon Paid Family Leave Act, OFLA provides covered employees with job protection. Employees returning to work after OFLA leave are generally entitled to return to the same job, with the same pay, benefits, and schedule. If the employee’s job no longer exists, the employer must offer an equivalent position if one is available. A job may no longer exist for reasons like general downsizing – employers are not allowed to replace employees with a worker who merely “covered” the job duties during the employee’s protected absence.

It is illegal in Oregon to discriminate or retaliate against employees for asking about their rights to use OFLA or for using OFLA.

Employees who have been denied the use of OFLA leave time, wrongfully fired or demoted for using OFLA leave, or who suffered retaliation for asking about or using protected OFLA time may have legal claims against the employer for money damages, legal costs and fees, and other remedies. Learn more about retaliation protections.

“Safe Leave” requirements apply to employers who have had at least 6 Oregon employees during any 20 weeks of the year prior to the leave. “Safe Leave” is available to Oregon employees who have suffered domestic or sexual violence, bias crimes (“hate crimes”), or harassment / stalking as defined under Oregon criminal law and certain legal regulations.

Covered employees can use “Safe Leave” to attend legal proceedings, seek law enforcement assistance, attend medical and counseling appointments, obtain victim services, and relocate or take other home security measures, in order to ensure the employee’s own safety or that of the employee’s minor child. The “Safe Leave” law also requires covered employers to make requested reasonable safety accommodations for employees who have been victims of domestic or sexual violence, bias crimes, or criminal harassment / stalking. Schuck Law assists employees with enforcing their rights under both these types of laws.

Employees are entitled to use any available leave time including sick leave, Oregon PFMLA, OFLA, or other employer-provided time off for the purposes of “Safe Leave.” When using any other type of protected leave for “Safe Leave” purposes, the protections and benefits of those leave laws also apply. Employees are also entitled to take a reasonable amount of unpaid “Safe Leave,” even if they don’t otherwise have any PTO or other time off available.

Employers can require advance notice of leave that is “foreseeable” (like to attend a pre-scheduled appointment or court proceeding), and can request documentation of the need for leave such as a police report, court document, or documentation from a medical or legal services provider.

It is illegal in Oregon to discriminate or retaliate against an employee because the employee is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, bias crimes, or criminal harassment / stalking, or because the employee makes needed use of Oregon “Safe Leave.” Learn more about retaliation protections.

Employees who have been denied the use of “Safe Leave,” wrongfully fired or demoted for using Safe Leave, or who suffered employment discrimination because they are victims of domestic or sexual violence, bias crimes, or criminal harassment / stalking may have legal claims against the employer for money damages, legal costs and fees, and other remedies.