Paid Leave Oregon’s Rules Clarify Employee Benefit Information

Paid Leave Oregon is a wage-replacement benefit program administered by the Oregon Employment Department meant to compensate employees who need to take time off work to care for and bond with a child following the child’s birth or adoption; to recover from their own or a family member’s serious health condition; or to take leave if the employee or their family member has experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, or harassment.

Effective July 1, 2024, with Oregon’s enactment of Senate Bill 1515, redundancies between qualifying reasons for taking leave under Paid Leave Oregon and the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) were eliminated. For example, eligible employees who take leave for their own serious health condition may be able to take leave under Paid Leave Oregon (and, in some instances, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act [FMLA] concurrently), but that leave would no longer qualify for protections under OFLA.

On Jan. 1, 2025, new administrative agency rules went into effect to clarify employee benefit information under Paid Leave Oregon.

Employees taking Paid Leave Oregon are entitled to use any accrued sick leave, vacation, or other employer-provided paid time off (PTO) benefit to “true up” the wage-replacement benefit they receive from the Oregon Employment Department so that they receive a full-wage replacement while on Paid Leave Oregon. The new rules allow the Oregon Employment Department to share an employee’s potential weekly benefit amount with employers so that employers know what amount of employer-provided benefit is needed to true up the benefit to a full-wage replacement.

Other notable changes include:

Employer response time reduced. Employers now have five instead of 10 calendar days to respond to the Oregon Employment Department’s notice to report any additional information before an employee’s Paid Leave Oregon claim is processed. Responses may be submitted through the department’s online platform, Frances Online. If an employer fails to provide information within five calendar days of the notice, the claim will be processed using the information available in the department’s records. If information is submitted after five calendar days of the notice, the department may reprocess the claim, taking the additional information into account.

Preplacement leave requirements. “Preplacement leave” refers to family leave taken before a child’s adoption or foster placement. It includes activities such as counseling, court appearances, legal consultations, physical exams, travel to complete an adoption, and other actions necessary for adoption and foster placement. This leave may be taken only on an intermittent basis. Employees taking Paid Leave Oregon for preplacement leave must submit verification to confirm the intended adoption or foster care placement, such as a court order or a letter signed by legal counsel representing the foster or adoptive parent.

Verification of date of birth and serious health conditions. Employees seeking family or medical leave must now include their date of birth on documents to ensure accurate identification. Employees may also describe symptoms and treatments as an alternative to providing a formal diagnosis.

Florence Z. Mao and Justin G. Haddad are attorneys with Ogletree Deakins in Portland, Ore. © 2025 Ogletree Deakins. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.