In 2019, Oregon enacted a Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) program. As background, the PFMLI applies to employers employing one or more employees working in Oregon and provides up to 12 weeks of paid family, medical, or safe leave in a benefit year. The program is funded by employee/employer contributions, see prior Benefit Beat article here.

Oregon’s Employment Department (OED) has issued final rules governing the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program. Contributions to the program begin January 1, 2023, with paid leave benefits beginning September 3, 2023.Below is a brief summary of the final rules.

Application for benefits

Beginning September 3, 2023, an employee can apply for benefits through the OED up to 30 calendar days before or after the start of leave. The application must be submitted online or by another method approved by the OED. The application must include the type of leave requested, anticipated leave dates, whether the leave is to be taken in consecutive or nonconsecutive days and include documentation verifying the type of leave requested. OED may request additional information to verify eligibility or qualification for benefits and the employee must respond within 14 days (if request is mailed) or 10 days (if request is sent via email).

The OED will notify the employer when an employee has applied for benefits. The employer may respond to the OED if the employee did not provide the required notice (described below).

Intermittent leave

An employee may take leave in increments equivalent to one workday or one workweek. An employee can take either consecutive or nonconsecutive periods of leave in increments that equal one workday or one work week.

Workday means any day on which an employee performs any work for an employer and is an increment of a work week. Work week means a seven-day period beginning on a Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and ending on the following Saturday at midnight.

Employee notice

If the leave is foreseeable, an employer may require an eligible employee to give written notice at least 30 calendar days before commencing a period of paid family, medical, or safe leave. If the leave is unforeseeable, the eligible employee must give oral notice to the employer within 24 hours of the leave beginning and must provide written notice within three days after the leave has begun.

An employer that requires eligible employees to provide a written notice before the eligible employee commences leave, must outline the requirements in the employer’s written policy and procedures. An employee who fails to provide the required leave notice may incur a 25% reduction penalty in the first weekly benefit amount.

Approved equivalent plans

Employers that provide paid leave benefits that are equal to or greater than those provided by PFMLI, and employees working for an equivalent-plan employer, do not have to pay contributions to the PFMLI program. Equivalent plans must provide the same or better benefits as the PFMLI program to all full- and part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees and may not be more restrictive or cost employees any more than the base rate established by the OED.

To be exempt from paying contributions beginning January 1, 2023, employers can submit their equivalent plan applications as of September 6, 2022, and no later than November 30, 2022.If the employer cannot apply prior to November 30, the employer may submit a Declaration of Intent option and submit the equivalent plan application by May 31, 2023.Equivalent plans will be effective starting September 3, 2023.

Employers that submit a Declaration of Intent must still deduct employee contributions and hold them in trust beginning January 1, 2023, until the OED has approved the equivalent plan application. If the application is denied, an employer may submit an appeal but must collect and pay contributions during that period.

Employers must reapprove their plans annually for the first three years or if any substantive changes are made to the plan. After three years, employers will no longer have to reapply, and the plan will continue until withdrawn or ended.

The OED has prepared an equivalent plan guidebook and checklist for an employer’s use.

The information contained in this Benefit Beat is not intended to be legal, accounting, or other professional advice, nor are these comments directed to specific situations. This information is provided as general guidance and may be affected by changes in law or regulation. This information is not intended to replace or substitute for accounting or other professional advice. You must consult your own attorney or tax advisor for assistance in specific situations. This information is provided as-is, with no warranties of any kind. CBIZ shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever in connection with its use and assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in laws or other factors that could affect the information contained herein.