Since Paid Leave Oregon took effect on September 3, 2023, employees have been able to stack protected leave benefits leaving employers with staffing shortages and limited avenues to consolidate Oregon’s quagmire of leave laws. On March 4, 2024, the Oregon legislature passed SB 1515, which Governor Tina Kotek is expected to sign into law, offering a much-needed reprieve for employers. SB 1515 will dramatically change Oregon’s leave law landscape to provide some relief for employers and human resources personnel who manage employee leave requests. Although the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) is not going away entirely, Paid Leave Oregon is swallowing up most of the leave entitlements employees would otherwise have under OFLA.

Paid Leave Oregon and OFLA Through June 30, 2024

Paid Leave Oregon currently provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave for the following purposes:

• Family leave to care for or bond with a child during the first year after the child’s birth or placement through foster care or adoption; or to care for a family member with a serious health condition;
• Medical leave to care for the employee’s own serious health condition; and
• Safe leave to address domestic violence, harassment, or stalking. Eligible employees may qualify for up to two additional weeks of Paid Leave Oregon for limitations relating to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition (including lactation).

OFLA currently provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid protected leave to eligible employees for the following purposes:

• To care for a family member with a serious health condition;
• For an employee’s own serious health condition;
• To care for a sick child of the employee or spouse or domestic partner who does not have a serious health condition but requires home care (“sick child leave”), including to care for a child of the employee or spouse or domestic partner whose school or childcare provider has been closed in conjunction with a declared public health emergency;
• To be with or care for a child of the employee or spouse or domestic partner after birth or placement for adoption or foster care (“parental bonding leave”);
• For the employee’s own disability due to their own pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, including absences for prenatal care (“pregnancy-related disability leave”); and
• To make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member, to attend the family member’s funeral or memorial service, and/or to grieve the death of a family member (“bereavement leave”). Eligible employees are provided up to two weeks of bereavement leave per death of a covered family member, not to exceed 12 weeks.

Under OFLA, eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks (and up to an additional 12 weeks for any pregnancy-related disability) in any leave year. Parents who use all 12 weeks of parental bonding leave are also entitled to take up to 12 weeks of sick-child leave. By way of example, an employee disabled due to their pregnancy may take up to 12 weeks of OFLA pregnancy disability leave, then up to 12 weeks of parental bonding leave, and ultimately up to another 12 weeks of OFLA sick child leave, for a total of up to 36 weeks of OFLA leave.

Paid Leave Oregon and OFLA Beginning July 1, 2024

Serious Health Condition and Family Bonding Leave Available Under Paid Leave Oregon Instead of OFLA

Effective July 1, 2024, OFLA will not include family leave (aka parental bonding leave) or serious health condition leave for an employee or their family member. Instead, family leave and serious health condition leave will be solely covered under Paid Leave Oregon. Thereafter, OFLA leave will only be available for the following reasons:

• Sick child leave;
• To care for a child of the employee or spouse or domestic partner whose school or childcare provider has been closed in conjunction with a declared public health emergency;
• Bereavement leave up to a total of four weeks per year; and
• Pregnancy-related disability leave (this leave is in addition to other leave available under OFLA and Paid Leave Oregon).

OFLA and Paid Leave Oregon Leave Are No Longer Concurrent

Effective July 1, 2024, leave taken under OFLA is in addition to, and may not be taken concurrently with, any leave taken under Paid Leave Oregon. However, no changes were made to Paid Leave Oregon’s concurrence with leave taken under the FMLA for the same purpose.

OFLA Bereavement Leave Limited to Maximum of 4 Weeks Instead of 12 Weeks

Effective July 1, 2024, OFLA eligible employees may take up to two weeks of family bereavement leave for each family member’s death, not to exceed a total of four weeks in any one-year period. Previously, employees could take up to two weeks of family bereavement leave per family member, not to exceed 12 weeks in any one-year period. OFLA bereavement leave must be completed within 60 days of the date on which the employee receives notice of the death of the family member. Bereavement leave is not available under Paid Leave Oregon.

Sick Child Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave under OFLA

OFLA sick child leave currently is available to eligible employees: (1) to care for a sick child of the employee or spouse or domestic partner who does not have a serious health condition but requires home care and (2) to care for a child of the employee or spouse or domestic partner whose school or childcare provider has been closed in conjunction with a declared public health emergency.  Effective July 1, 2024, OFLA sick child leave will be expanded to include home care of a child even if the child needs home care for a serious health condition.

Leave to Effectuate the Legal Process Required for Child’s Foster Care Placement or Adoption

Effective January 1, 2025, the definition of “Family Leave” under Paid Leave Oregon will include leave to effectuate the legal process required for foster child placement or child adoption.

Because Paid Leave Oregon’s coverage for leave related to the foster or adoption legal process is not available until January 1, 2025, from July 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024, a temporary amendment to OFLA will provide an eligible employee a total of two weeks of OFLA leave to effectuate the legal process required for placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child. Under this temporary amendment, an eligible employee must give oral notice within 24 hours of commencing OFLA adoption or foster care legal process leave, and must give written notice within three days after the employee returns to work.

Use of PTO or Other Accrued Leave

SB 1515 clarifies the use of other paid leave benefits in connection with Paid Leave Oregon benefits. Currently an employer may permit an employee to use other paid leave benefits in addition to Paid Leave Oregon benefits (but may also deny the use of other paid leave benefits). However, beginning July 1, 2024, an eligible employee is entitled to use any accrued paid sick leave, accrued paid vacation leave or any other paid leave offered by the employer in addition to receiving Paid Leave Oregon benefits, but only to the extent that the total combined amount of accrued paid leave and Paid Leave Oregon benefits received by the employee does not exceed an amount equal to the employee’s regular full wage during the period of Paid Leave Oregon leave. However, the amendment permits (but does not require) an employer to allow combined paid leave benefits and Paid Leave Oregon benefits to exceed employee’s regular full wage. Subject to any collective bargaining or other agreement between the employee and employer, the employer may determine the particular order in which accrued leave is used when more than one type of accrued leave is available to the eligible employee.

Predictive Scheduling Exception for Short-Notice Schedule Changes due to Protected Leave

Oregon’s predictive scheduling law requires certain employers to provide written work schedules to employees at least two weeks in advance of the first day of work on the schedule. With limited exceptions, an employer must pay a penalty wage to an employee for any changes to the work schedule that were made without at least 14 days’ advance notice. Effective July 1, 2024, a new exception applies for short-notice schedule changes needed to replace an employee commencing, or to accommodate an employee returning from, protected leave when the employee fails to provide 14 days’ advance notice to their employer. The exception applies in the case of Paid Leave Oregon, OFLA, or other protected leave covered under ORS 659A.¹

OFLA Definition of “One-Year Period” Changes July 1, 2024

At present, OFLA permits an employer to define a “one-year period” using a measurement period that aligns with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In contrast, the one-year period under Paid Leave Oregon is defined as 52 consecutive weeks beginning on the Sunday immediately preceding the date on which family leave commences. Effective July 1, 2024, and pursuant to SB 999 (2023), the OFLA “one-year period” will be measured in the same way as Paid Leave Oregon leave is measured, i.e., a one-year period means a period of 52 consecutive weeks beginning on the Sunday immediately preceding the date on which family leave commences.

Next Steps for Employers

Now that this legislation has passed the legislature and is on its way to the governor, employers should prepare to review and revise their Paid Leave Oregon and OFLA leave policies and tracking systems for implementation effective July 1, 2024, and prepare a plan to inform employees about these upcoming changes. In addition, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and Oregon Employment Department will likely issue additional rules implementing these changes.