Senate Bill 1515 Brings Changes to Oregon’s Leave Laws

Administering employee leaves in Oregon is no picnic. Most employers must navigate the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), which provides job-protected unpaid leave for specific medical, family, or bereavement-related reasons, and Paid Leave Oregon (PLO), which provides paid leave for many of the same reasons. The two types of leave are designed to run simultaneously when taken for the same reason. However, differing eligibility requirements and leave length creates a tracking nightmare for employers, and in some cases, employees can “stack” leaves and be absent from work for months at a time.

Fortunately for employers, the Oregon legislature attempted to alleviate these leave administration challenges by passing Senate Bill (SB) 1515. The bill will simplify the interaction between OFLA and PLO starting July 1, 2024. 
Under the revised law, the reasons for taking OFLA and PLO will be distinctly separate, and eligible employees may take leave under one law or the other—but not concurrently. OFLA will no longer cover leave for child bonding or for an employee’s or family member’s serious health condition. These reasons, along with safe leave for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, bias crimes, or stalking, will exclusively be available under PLO. OFLA will only cover bereavement, pregnancy disability, and sick child leave for both serious and non-serious health conditions (previously, OFLA was only to be used for sick child leave for non-serious medical conditions). The bereavement leave limit will be reduced from 12 weeks to four weeks per year.

Military family leave is unchanged, and the 14 days per deployment will continue to count against the employee’s OFLA entitlement. Also unchanged is an employee’s ability to take 12 weeks of pregnancy disability leave under OFLA in addition to 12 weeks of leave for another covered reason. PLO also continues to provide two additional weeks of leave for pregnancy disability. See below for a chart summarizing the covered reasons for OFLA/PLO leave and their allowed durations before and after July 1. 

Additionally, between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, OFLA will temporarily allow for two weeks of leave to facilitate the legal process required for the placement of a foster child or adoption. Starting January 1, 2025, this reason will be covered by PLO.

The new bill also addresses employees’ ability to take employer-provided paid time off, such as vacation or sick time, while on PLO. Presently, an employer can prohibit an employee from using paid time off while on PLO, but under SB 1515, employees must be allowed to “top off” the state-provided benefits with paid time off. Employers can limit paid time off usage to an amount that only provides the difference between PLO benefits and their regular wage.
SB 1515 was not the first legislation to align OFLA and PLO. SB 999, signed by Governor Kotek on June 7, 2023, aligned the definition of covered family members and job protection rights under the two laws. It also aligned the method for tracking a one-year period for leave eligibility—effective July 1, 2024, all employers must use the “forward-looking method” for determining an employee’s OFLA and PLO entitlement. Under existing law, employers could choose one of four methods to calculate the one-year period for OFLA leave.

Oregon employers have little time to prepare for the implementation of SB 1515. Not only do employers need to update existing policies and forms, but they also need to address existing OFLA leaves that are for reasons no longer covered on July 1. BOLI recently published a temporary rule that directs employers to issue written notice to such employees if their leave is scheduled to extend beyond July 1. The notice must be provided by June 1, 2024. The notice must convey that the employee’s leave will no longer be protected by OFLA effective July 1, 2024. In addition, the employer must provide information about applying for PLO. The employer can meet this requirement by providing a copy of OED’s Model Notice Poster available on the PLO Resources website.

Archbright members have access to a library of resources to help them comply with SB 1515’s changes, including comprehensive Keynotes, sample policies and forms, and a sample notice to employees as required by BOLI’s temporary rule. Additionally, eligible members can contact the HR Hotline for questions pertaining to their workplace’s unique needs. For information on membership, contact info@archbright.com.