The Oregon Employment Department has announced that the contribution rate for the state’s paid family and medical leave program will be 1% of employee wages when contributions begin Jan. 1, 2023. Starting on that date, workers will pay 60% and employers will pay 40% of the combined 1% rate. The rate is expected to decrease in the future as the state fund that provides revenue for the program becomes solvent.

Oregon Family and Medical Leave

As with workers nationwide, eligible employees in Oregon are entitled to the leave benefits of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In addition, Oregon state law provides for family leave, military family leave, and beginning in 2023, paid family and medical leave. Highlights of these requirements are set forth in the chart below.

	Paid Family and Medical Leave	Family Leave (Unpaid)	Military Family Leave (Unpaid)
Is this requirement currently effective?	No. Contributions and benefits start in 2023.	Yes.	Yes.
Which employers are covered?	All employers.	Generally, employers with 25 or more employees in OR.	Generally, employers with 25 or more employees in OR.
Who is eligible for leave?	Virtually all employees working in OR who earned $1,000 during the base year.	Employees who have worked for at least 180 days and averaged at least 25 hours/week during that time). (Average weekly hour requirement does not apply to leave to care for a new child.)(Effective 1/1/22, during public health emergencies, leave is available for employees who have averaged 25 hours/week for 30 days before the leave.)	Employees who work on average at least 20 hrs/week.
Which life events qualify for leave?	Caring for and bonding with a child during first year after child’s birth or arrival through foster care or adoption;Caring for family member (includes siblings, partners, grandparents, grandchildren and others) with serious health condition (includes pregnancy disability and prenatal care);Employee’s serious health condition (includes pregnancy disability and prenatal care); orSeeking assistance, medical treatment, counseling or victim services, among other things, or relocating, due to domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking (safe leave).	Caring for infant, newly adopted child or newly placed foster child under 18 (older if disabled); leave must be completed within 12 months after birth or placement of child.Caring for family member (generally includes spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, in-laws) with serious health condition.Caring for child with injury, illness or condition that requires home care (sick child leave).As of 1/1/22, caring for child whose school/child care provider has closed due to a public health emergency.Recovering from or seeking treatment for serious health condition that renders employee unable to perform at least one essential function of position.Grieve death of, attend funeral/alternative for, or make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member (leave must be completed within 60 days of notification to employee of death).	Deployment of employee’s spouse or notification to spouse of impending call or order to active duty or deployment.
For how long can leave last?	Up to 12 weeks for paid family and medical leave or safe leaveUp to 16 weeks for paid and unpaid family and medical leave combinedUp to 2 additional weeks for pregnancy disability leave (18 weeks total).	Up to 12 weeks (2 weeks for death of family member) within any one-year period.A woman using pregnancy disability leave may take 12 additional weeks for a qualifying family leave purpose.An employee using 12 weeks of leave to care for a new child may take 12 additional weeks for the purpose of sick child leave.	14 days, which must be included in the total amount of family leave.
Is leave required to be paid?	Yes, funded by mandatory payroll tax on employees (60%) and employers with more than 25 workers (40%), beginning Jan. 1, 2023. Combined contribution rate for 2023 is 1% of employee wages.Compensation to be paid on a sliding scale beginning in 2023, based on income.	No.	No.
May leave be taken intermittently?	Generally yes, for leave for serious health condition of an eligible employee or family member.	Generally yes, for leave for a serious health condition of an eligible employee or family member.	Yes.
Must an employer maintain an employee’s health benefits while he or she is on leave?	Yes.	Yes.	Yes.
Are employers required to provide a notice to employees about the law?	Yes, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Regulations and a model notice from the Oregon Employment Dept. are expected.	Yes. Employers must post a notice of the law’s requirements in every establishment in which employees are employed.	Not addressed by statute.
Are individuals required to provide notice?	Yes. Employers may require at least 30 days’ notice and an explanation for the leave, where foreseeable. If leave is not foreseeable, oral notice must instead be given within 24 hours of starting leave, and written notice within 3 days of the leave. Failure to give notice may result in reduction of first weekly benefit payment by up to 25%.	Yes. Employers may require 30 days’ notice, unless the leave is for an unexpected occurrence, where verbal notice must be given within 24 hours of starting leave, and written notice 3 days after returning to work.	Yes. Employee must provide employer with notice within 5 business days of receiving official notice of order to active duty or of leave from deployment.
Must an employee be restored to his or her prior position or to a similar or equivalent position?	Yes.	Yes.	Yes.

Click here to read FAQs about Family Leave from the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). Click here to read a fact sheet from BOLI about the Oregon Military Family Leave Act. For more information, please contact BOLI.

Please Note: The state laws summaries featured on this site are for general informational purposes only. In addition to state law, certain municipalities may enact legislation that imposes different requirements. State and local laws change frequently and, as such, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information featured in the State Laws section. For more detailed information regarding state or local laws, please contact your state labor department or the appropriate local government agency.