On February 27th, the Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1515A, which makes changes to Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) and the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA). Governor Kotek is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
Since PLO went into effect, there has been a lot of overlap between PLO and OFLA, which has resulted in Oregon employees being able to stack leaves, amongst many other challenges and frustrations for employers. SB 1515A seeks to simplify and minimize such overlap by making several changes, including eliminating many provisions under OFLA.
Below is a list of the changes that will take effect:
OFLA changes – Effective July 1, 2024
- OFLA will no longer include leave for a serious health condition for an employee or the employee’s family member.
- OFLA will no longer include leave for parental leave.
- OFLA for bereavement leave will be capped at four weeks per leave year.
- OFLA Sick Child will be expanded to include leave to care for a child who requires home care due to an illness, injury or condition that is a serious health condition. This is in addition sick child leave to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed in conjunction with a statewide public health emergency. OFLA will continue to be available if an employee has a sick child that requires home care due to an illness, injury or condition that is not a serious health condition (cold, flu, etc.).
- OFLA leave will be in addition to PLO leave, meaning that PLO and OFLA may no longer be taken concurrently.
OFLA Changes – Effective between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024
- OFLA leave will be temporarily amended to allow two additional weeks of leave to effectuate the legal process required for placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child.
PLO – Effective January 1, 2025
- PLO will include leave to effectuate the legal process required for placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child.
PLO – Effective July 1, 2024
- Employees are entitled to use any accrued paid leave they have available in addition to receiving PLO benefits, as long as the combination of accrued paid leave and PLO benefits does not exceed the employee’s regular pay. However, an employer may permit an employee to use their accrued paid leave in addition to their PLO benefits even if it exceeds the employee’s regular pay. Currently, if an employee applies for PLO only (not combined with OLFA), an employee can request to use their company provided paid leave, but an employer can deny the request.
PLO – Effective July 1, 2024
- If an employer is covered under Oregon’s predictive scheduling laws, the employer will be exempt from the Predictive Scheduling penalties if that employer is provided with less than 14 days’ notice before the first day of the work schedule of the need for leave under PLO and/or OFLA, and the employer makes a change to the schedule of an employee who was temporarily assigned to specific shifts to cover for an employee on leave under PLO and/or OFLA.
OFLA reasons will look like this:
- Parental leave (eliminated 7/1/24) — a parent can take time off for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
- Serious health condition leave (eliminated 7/1/24) — available for an employee’s own serious health condition, or to care for a family member.
- Pregnancy disability leave — includes routine medical visits related to pregnancy before or after giving birth. Under OFLA, an employee may take up to 12 weeks of pregnancy disability and still have 12 weeks available for any other purpose.
- Sick child leave (amended 7/1/24) — for an employee’s child with an illness or injury that requires home care but is not a serious health condition. Leave to care for an employee’s child who requires home care due to an illness, injury or condition that is a serious health condition. Leave may also be taken to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed in conjunction with a statewide public health emergency.
- Military family leave — up to 14 days if your spouse or domestic partner is a service member who has been called to active duty or is on leave from active duty.
- Bereavement leave (amended 7/1/24) — up to 2 weeks per death 4 weeks total of leave after the death of a family member.
- Foster or Adoption (effective 7/1/24-12/31/25) - allows two additional weeks of leave to effectuate the legal process required for placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child.
PLO generally stays the same:
Family Leave
- Birth of a child
- Bonding with a child
- In the first year after birth
- Through adoption
- When they're placed in your home through foster care
- Effective Jan. 1, 2025: to effectuate the legal process required for the placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child
- To care for a family member with a serious illness or injury
Medical Leave
- To care for yourself when you have a serious illness or injury
Safe Leave
- For survivors of sexual assaults, domestic violence, harassment, or stalking
In order to prepare for these upcoming changes, eligible employers should revise their OFLA and PLO policies and procedures accordingly, as well as train supervisors on the changes. Additionally, for employers eligible for FMLA, it should be noted that FMLA still remains the same. With that, an eligible employee may be able to stack PLO and FMLA.
Cascade is developing and updating all of its leave materials and resources to ensure you are prepared for this change. We will be scheduling several webinars and learning opportunities over the next few months as well.
Stay tuned to keep updated on these continuing changes.