Paid Leave Oregon: What to know as applications are set to open for the new state program
Applications for Oregon's paid leave program open Monday and the Oregon Employment Department is preparing for thousands of claims from individuals in the first few weeks.
Paid Leave Oregon was created in 2019 through House Bill 2005, making Oregon one of only 11 states to offer paid family and medical leave. The state will also offer safe leave for victims of domestic abuse, stalking, sexual assault or harassment.
All employees working in Oregon, regardless of their employer's size, began paying into the program this year. Large employers with more than 25 employees also began contributing in January. For employers with fewer than 25 workers, paying into the program is optional but they are still required to withhold employee contributions.
Employers that already offer their own paid leave or paid time off plans with equal or greater benefits can apply to the state to qualify as offering an "equivalent plan."
The program is funded through contributions consisting of 1% of gross wages. Employers pay 40% of the contribution rate while employees pay 60%. There is a contribution maximum of up to $132,900 for employees this year.
Those automatically covered include people who work in Oregon and earned at least $1,000 the year before applying for benefits and have a qualifying life event. Self-employed, independent contractors, or tribal government employees can still choose coverage.
The bill allocated $15.6 million to the employment department for start-up costs of the program, which the department had to reimburse by January when employers and employees began contributing to the trust fund to pay for the benefits.
In a news briefing, Paid Leave Oregon director Karen Madden Humelbaugh said there were 250 program employees ready to assist in the rollout.
How to apply for Paid Leave Oregon
Beginning Aug. 14, employees will be able to use the state's new Francis Online system to apply for paid leave in Oregon.
The Paid Leave Oregon webpage has a guidebook and other resources for employees related to eligibility and how to apply for family, medical and safe leave. A person should apply no earlier than 30 days before they need to take leave and no later than 30 days after starting leave.
Step 1 will be gathering the necessary documents, which vary based on the type of leave.
Step 2 is giving notice to your employer. If a person knows they will need to use paid leave, they are required to give an employer 30 days notice. In an emergency, a person has to tell their employer that they need to use paid leave within 24 hours and then give written notice within three days after starting leave.
Participants' jobs are protected by law while they are on paid leave if they have worked at least 90 consecutive days for that employer.
Humelbaugh advised people who know they will be applying for leave on Monday to let their employer know they will be doing so if they haven't already. She acknowledged that starting a new program means not everybody understands the requirements.
"We'll be looking at places if somebody has missed that deadline where they would have good cause for us to waive that requirement," Humelbaugh said. "We're going to be as flexible as we can because we know this is something new for all of us."
What are qualifying life events?
Qualifying life events vary but include:
Birth of a child.
Bonding with a child in the first year following birth, adoption or foster care placement.
Serious health condition of a family member, which the program defines as an illness, injury, impairment or condition requiring inpatient care, poses imminent danger of death or possibility of death, requiring constant or continuing care, involving a period of incapacity, involving multiple treatments or involving a period of disability due to pregnancy.
Their own serious health condition.
If they or their child is a survivor of sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking.
The program also has a broad list of who it defines as a family member. A family member includes anyone related to an employee by blood or with who they have a family relationship, such as a person's spouse or domestic partner; a child including biological, adopted, step or foster, or child of a person's spouse or domestic partner, or the child's own spouse or domestic partner. Family members also include biological, adoptive, foster or step parents, parents of a spouse or domestic partner, or a parent's spouse or partner.
Siblings, stepsiblings, grandparents and grandchildren are also included.
How much time and money?
Employees in Oregon will be entitled to 12 weeks of paid leave within a 52-week period. They can take a week or a single day off at a time.
After applications open, the department expects about 41,000 claims and estimates there will be an average of 12,000 claims a month after the initial wave. Employees will be able to take the first day of leave starting Sept. 3 and can expect to be approved two weeks after that.
Those on paid leave will be paid a portion of their wages every week while on leave either through direct deposit or a prepaid debit card. Checks will also be available but in rare circumstances, the department said.
Exact amounts depend on an employee's earnings the year before. Minimum-wage employees are currently eligible for their full paychecks while on leave while a high-income employee who earned $132,000 or more will receive an estimated $1,400 a week. A calculator will be available online to provide amount information.
"This is a major statewide program that we hope will have a profound impact on many Oregonians' lives," David Gerstenfeld, director of the OED, said. "It will not only help individuals but hopefully will help break some cycles of generational poverty and help businesses keep more of their skilled employees."
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her atdlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @DianneLugo.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon's family, medical leave program applications to open
