The Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) is a crucial piece of legislation for employees in Oregon, providing job-protected leave for various family and medical reasons. If you work for an employer with 25 or more employees, understanding OFLA is essential. It ensures you have the right to take time off work without fear of losing your job when life necessitates it – whether for pregnancy, caring for a child, bereavement, or navigating adoption or foster care legalities.
While all Oregon workers are entitled to sick time, OFLA offers additional protection to those working for larger employers, alongside the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It’s important to note that OFLA itself is unpaid, offering job security but not wage replacement, unless you utilize accrued vacation, sick leave, or other paid time off.
However, Oregon has also introduced Paid Leave Oregon, a program designed to provide paid leave to most Oregon employees for significant life events such as childbirth, adoption, serious illness (personal or family member), and situations involving sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, bias, or stalking.
While some reasons for leave may qualify under both Paid Leave Oregon and OFLA, they are distinct and cannot be used concurrently for the same event. Furthermore, OFLA uniquely covers bereavement, sick child leave for non-serious health conditions, and military family leave, also accommodating leave for less than a full day, making it vital to understand your rights under OFLA.
Key Updates to OFLA Effective July 1, 2024
Significant legislative changes have reshaped OFLA starting July 1, 2024. A primary change is the requirement for all Oregon employers to adopt a measured forward leave year by July 1, 2024. This leave year commences on the Sunday preceding the first day of leave and extends for 52 weeks.
Moreover, Senate Bill 1515 (2024) has brought about the following crucial modifications:
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Separation from Paid Leave Oregon: OFLA and Paid Leave Oregon now operate independently. Employees eligible for both must choose one, as they cannot utilize both simultaneously for the same qualifying event.
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Narrowed Scope of Qualifying Events: The reasons for which you can take OFLA leave have been refined. As of July 1, 2024, OFLA now specifically covers:
- Sick Child Leave: To care for a child with an illness, injury, or condition necessitating home care. This includes both serious and non-serious health conditions, complementing family leave for serious child health conditions under Paid Leave Oregon. Sick child leave also extends to school and childcare closures due to public health emergencies.
- Bereavement Leave: Time off to grieve the death of a family member.
- Pregnancy Disability: Leave for an employee’s own pregnancy-related conditions or prenatal care.
- Military Family Leave: Up to 14 days per deployment, continuing to be counted against total OFLA leave entitlement.
- Child Placement Leave (Temporary): From July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, OFLA provides up to two weeks of leave for legal processes involved in foster child placement or adoption. (Paid Leave Oregon will incorporate this provision starting in 2025).
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Leave Duration Limits:
- Sick Child Leave and Bereavement: OFLA leave is capped at 12 weeks combined for sick child leave and bereavement per leave year. Bereavement leave is further limited to two weeks per family member’s death, with a maximum of four weeks total for bereavement in a single leave year.
- Pregnancy Disability: Up to 12 additional weeks are available for pregnancy disability, beyond the standard 12 weeks for sick child and bereavement leave.
- Child Placement Leave: Up to two additional weeks of child placement leave are available, but only until the end of 2024.
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Changes for Teachers: Most provisions specific to teachers taking leave near the end of a term have been removed.
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No Additional Sick Child Leave Post-Parental Leave: OFLA no longer provides additional sick child leave for employees who have already taken 12 weeks of parental leave.
Employers are obligated to inform employees whose previously approved OFLA leave on or after July 1st is no longer covered under the revised act.
According to OAR 839-009-0201, Oregon employers must provide written notice, in the language typically used for employee communication, if OFLA will not cover leave commencing July 1st or later that was previously approved. This notice must also inform employees of their option to apply for benefits under Paid Leave Oregon or their employer’s equivalent plan. This notification should be issued as soon as practically possible, ideally no later than June 1st.
Employers must also provide information about these OFLA changes to any employee requesting leave that is no longer covered as of July 1st. This notice should be given promptly, within 14 calendar days of the leave request.
While the rule does not mandate specific wording for the notice, an example provided includes:
“Under recent legislative changes, leaves which are not for bereavement, pregnancy disability or to care for your child’s illness, injury or a condition that requires home care, will no longer be protected by the Oregon Family Leave Act beginning July 1, 2024. Other laws may well provide you with protected leave. Please see the attached notice on Paid Leave Oregon and feel free to connect with HR to explore your options…”
This notice should be accompanied by information about Paid Leave Oregon, such as a copy of the program’s poster.
OFLA Leave Entitlements: Qualifying Reasons in Detail
Effective July 1, 2024, OFLA guarantees protected time off for eligible employees under these specific circumstances:
- Sick Child Leave: For caring for a child due to illness, injury, or a condition requiring home care. This encompasses both serious and non-serious health conditions. It is also available for school or childcare closures related to public health emergencies. This is in addition to family leave available under Paid Leave Oregon for a child’s serious health condition.
- Bereavement Leave: To manage affairs and grieve following the death of a family member. This leave must be taken within 60 days of learning about the family member’s death.
- Pregnancy Disability: For an employee’s own incapacitation due to pregnancy, childbirth, or for prenatal care.
- Military Family Leave: Up to 14 days of leave per military deployment. This leave continues to count against the employee’s total OFLA leave.
- Child Placement Leave: For legal processes necessary for foster child placement or adoption, available from July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. (Paid Leave Oregon will cover this starting in 2025.)
It’s important to reiterate the leave caps: OFLA leave is limited to 12 weeks per leave year for the combined use of sick child leave and bereavement leave. Bereavement leave itself is capped at two weeks per family member’s death, up to a total of four weeks in a leave year. Pregnancy disability allows for up to 12 additional weeks, and child placement leave provides up to two additional weeks (only until the end of 2024).
Important Note: For sick child leave, a child must be under 18 years old, or an adult dependent child with a substantial physical or mental impairment.
OFLA Protections: Ensuring Job Security and Benefits
While on OFLA leave, your employer is legally required to maintain your health insurance benefits under the same terms as if you were working. Upon your return from OFLA leave, you are entitled to be reinstated to your previous job or an equivalent position if your original role no longer exists. OFLA also strictly prohibits any form of discrimination or retaliation against employees for inquiring about, requesting, or taking family leave under the Act.
OFLA Eligibility: Who Can Qualify?
To be eligible for OFLA, you must meet certain criteria: your employer must have employed 25 or more individuals. Additionally, you must have worked for your employer for at least 180 days and averaged at least 25 hours per week.
Employees who meet OFLA eligibility but are temporarily separated from service or removed from the schedule and then rehired or returned to service within 180 days retain their OFLA eligibility upon their return. Furthermore, any prior employment days are credited towards eligibility if the employee is re-employed within this 180-day period.
During a declared public health emergency, the eligibility requirements are temporarily eased. Employees may become eligible for OFLA after just 30 days of employment, provided they have worked an average of 25 hours per week in those 30 days preceding the leave.
Understanding the Legal Framework of OFLA
The Oregon Family Leave Act is legally defined within:
- ORS 659A.150 – 659A.186: This section of the Oregon Revised Statutes outlines the definitions, provisions, and requirements of OFLA.
- OAR 839-009-0200 – 839-009-0320: These Oregon Administrative Rules provide further details on the implementation and interpretation of OFLA.
Recent updates to both Oregon sick leave rules and OFLA were finalized on March 2, 2024. The full notice of these changes (showing tracked changes) is available online. The final rules, as amended, for both sick leave and OFLA are also publicly accessible. These updates include clarifications of existing statutory language, reorganization of rules, and substantive changes such as:
- The mandate for employers to update their OFLA leave year to a “measured forward” method by July 1st.
- Clarification that employers must independently determine OFLA leave applicability for qualifying events, regardless of any Paid Leave Oregon claim.
- Definitions of “affinity” in family relationships and suggested attestation language for employers to use for family member relationships by affinity.
Additionally, a temporary rule, OAR 839-009-0201, issued May 8, 2024, requires employers to notify employees if their OFLA leave, approved for July 1st or later, will no longer be covered due to the legislative changes.
Further notice of proposed rules was issued on May 8, 2024, with the full notice available online. Final rules were officially posted on the Secretary of State website on July 1, 2024.
If you believe your employer is violating OFLA, you have the right to file an employment discrimination complaint or contact the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) at [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions About OFLA
What does protected leave mean under OFLA?
Protected leave under the Oregon Family Medical Leave Act means that you are legally entitled to take time off from work for specific family and medical reasons without the risk of job loss or demotion. OFLA ensures your job is protected while you take necessary leave to care for yourself or your family. During your leave, your employer must maintain your group health insurance coverage, and upon your return, you are guaranteed reinstatement to your same or a comparable job. Moreover, OFLA prohibits any form of discrimination or retaliation against employees who inquire about, request, or utilize family leave.
Are there other Oregon laws that provide protected family leave?
Yes, Oregon offers several other laws that provide protected leave. The Oregon sick leave law mandates that all employees accrue and use at least 40 hours of protected sick time annually. This sick leave can be used for personal or family member illness, injury, mental health needs, medical appointments, and all reasons covered under OFLA. Employers with 10 or more employees (6 or more in Portland) must provide paid sick time. Those not front-loading 40 hours must allow accrual at a rate of at least one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked.
Furthermore, Paid Leave Oregon is a recent program providing paid leave for significant life events, including childbirth, adoption, serious illness (personal or family), and situations of sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, bias, or stalking.
In addition to state laws, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) also offers up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. While FMLA does not cover sick child leave for non-serious conditions or bereavement, it does protect leave for an employee’s own serious health condition or that of immediate family members (parents, spouses, and children). FMLA also includes military caregiver leave and leave for “qualifying exigencies” related to a family member’s military service. Detailed information is available in the US DOL’s factsheet.
The Oregon Military Family Leave Act (OMFLA) provides up to 14 days of protected leave per deployment for employees who are spouses or domestic partners of service members facing active duty. OMFLA leave counts against OFLA entitlement but remains available even if OFLA leave is exhausted. Notably, OMFLA eligibility requires fewer hours worked per week than OFLA (20 vs. 25), and no minimum employment duration, potentially benefiting employees not eligible for OFLA.
How many weeks of OFLA leave can I take?
Under OFLA, you can take up to 12 weeks of leave per leave year for the combined reasons of sick child leave and bereavement. Bereavement leave is capped at two weeks per family member’s death, not exceeding four weeks in total bereavement leave per year.
Separately, OFLA provides up to 12 additional weeks for pregnancy disability. These weeks are in addition to the 12 weeks for sick child and bereavement leave.
Lastly, from July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024, OFLA includes up to two additional weeks for child placement leave, to facilitate adoption or foster care legal processes. This is also additional to the other types of OFLA leave.
If family leave is granted for a condition that is also a disability under ADA and Oregon disability law, are further accommodations required after leave?
Yes, very likely. Employers have a responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee’s disability if it does not pose an undue hardship. If an employee has exhausted their family leave for a serious health condition that is also a disability, or upon their return from intermittent leave, the obligation to provide reasonable accommodations remains. For example, an employee returning from leave for back injuries might require ergonomic office equipment. Additional unpaid leave or adjusted work schedules for therapy could also be considered reasonable accommodations under disability laws. Employers are required to engage in an interactive process with the returning employee to identify suitable accommodations and should document these efforts. Resources are available in the disability accommodation toolkit.
Which family members are covered under OFLA?
For pregnancy disability, OFLA coverage is limited to the employee’s own pregnancy-related conditions.
For bereavement leave, the definition of “family member” under OFLA is broad and includes:
- Spouse or domestic partner
- Child (of the employee) or the child’s spouse or domestic partner
- Parent (of the employee) or the parent’s spouse or domestic partner
- Sibling or stepsibling (of the employee) or their spouse or domestic partner
- Grandparent (of the employee) or their spouse or domestic partner
- Grandchild (of the employee) or their spouse or domestic partner
- Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association is the equivalent of a family relationship.
Important Note: For sick child leave, the child must be under 18 or an adult dependent child with a substantial physical or mental impairment.
How does the OFLA approval process work?
OFLA administration is managed by employers.
Employers can generally require employees to provide written notice of leave needs, ideally 30 days in advance. For unforeseen or emergency leave, notice should be given as soon as practicable, but no later than 24 hours after leave begins. Employers may also require written confirmation within three days of returning to work.
Oregon’s sick time law also covers all OFLA-qualifying absences, including sick child leave for school/childcare closures. Sick time regulations allow employers to require up to ten days’ advance notice for foreseeable leave, and as much notice as practicable for unforeseeable leave.
Can employers require medical verification for OFLA leave?
In certain situations, yes. Employers may request medical verification for pregnancy disability and sick child leave (excluding sick child leave for school/childcare closures during public health emergencies). For sick child leave, medical verification can only be required for absences after the third day of sick child leave. A “day” of sick child leave is any day or part of a day of absence. Thus, on the fourth day of sick child leave (whether continuous or accumulated), verification may be required.
Oregon’s sick time law, which also covers OFLA-qualifying absences, only permits medical verification after the third consecutive day of leave. For consistency and employee benefit, employers should align with the more protective sick time law regarding verification for leaves covered by both laws.
Employers are responsible for the out-of-pocket costs of medical verification unless a collective bargaining agreement or other legal statute dictates otherwise. Employers cannot demand second opinions.
Must employers inform employees that time off is designated as family leave under OFLA?
Yes. Generally, within five business days of becoming aware of an employee’s need for leave, employers must notify the employee of their OFLA eligibility in writing.
Exceptions exist. Employers can request written information within five business days to verify the need for bereavement leave, such as confirming the deceased was a family member. Once this information is received, the employer has five business days to notify the employee of their eligibility.
For medical verification, employers may request this before leave starts if foreseeable, or within 15 days if unforeseeable. In these cases, employers may provisionally approve OFLA leave pending medical verification.
Can employees use paid leave while taking OFLA?
Yes. While Paid Leave Oregon benefits cannot run concurrently with OFLA for the same qualifying event, employees can use other forms of paid leave, such as PTO or vacation time, during OFLA leave.
Employees are also permitted to use available paid sick time during OFLA leave.
Employers generally determine the order in which other paid leave banks are used, unless a collective bargaining agreement or company policy specifies otherwise.
If I am covered by multiple leave laws, which one applies?
It depends on the situation. If the leave reason qualifies under both Paid Leave Oregon and OFLA (e.g., pregnancy disability or caring for a child with a serious health condition), the employee chooses which leave to apply for, but they cannot use both simultaneously. Regardless of whether applying for OFLA or Paid Leave Oregon, employees should notify their employer of their leave needs. Employers may provisionally designate leave as OFLA while a Paid Leave Oregon claim is being processed.
Other leave laws can run concurrently. For instance, both FMLA and OFLA could apply to pregnancy disability leave, and time taken would count against both leave banks simultaneously.
To ensure compliance with multiple leave laws, employers must often apply the law most beneficial to the employee. For example, while OFLA allows medical verification after the third day of sick child leave use, Oregon sick time law only permits it after three consecutive days. In cases covered by both laws, employers must adhere to the sick time law’s more employee-friendly verification rule.
Can an absence due to a Workers’ Compensation claim also count as family leave under OFLA?
Generally, no, not under OFLA, unless the employee declines a suitable offer of light duty or modified work. However, if FMLA also applies and the absence qualifies as a serious health condition, FMLA may apply concurrently with a workers’ compensation absence.
Paid Leave Oregon benefits also cannot be received in any week where an employee is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
Editor’s Note: Family leave laws at both state and federal levels are complex. This guide provides a general overview and should not be considered legal advice. For detailed legal analysis, consider attending seminars or purchasing resources like the BOLI’s Leave Laws handbook.
Helpful Documents and Resources for OFLA
- Family Leave Tracking Form
- Family Leave Tracking Form (Excel)
- Template for Medical Certification OFLA only
- Template for Medical Certification OFLA and FMLA
By understanding the Oregon Family Medical Leave Act, both employees and employers can navigate leave situations effectively and ensure compliance with Oregon law. Remember to stay updated on any further changes to OFLA and consult official resources for specific guidance.
