State FMLA – Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 659A.150 to 659A.186 (Oregon Family Leave Act)

This portion of this regulation is for sick child.

Covered Employers: Employers with 25 or more employees in Oregon each working day during 20 or more calendar work weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

Employee Eligibility: Employee must have worked for employer at least 180 days immediately prior to leave and at least 25 hours per week.

Entitlement: Generally, 12 weeks of leave in a one year period for a child's non-serious illness, injury, or other condition that requires homecare except, employers do not have to grant leave to care for a child's minor illness when another family member is available to care for the child .
An employee who has already taken 12 weeks of bonding leave under OFLA may take an additional 12 weeks of leave under this policy.

Employer Notice: If an employer determines that an employee does not qualify for OFLA leave for the reason requested, the employer must notify the employee in writing that the employee does not qualify. The written notice must state that the employee is ineligible and/or that the requested leave does not qualify as OFLA leave, and at least one reason why the employee is not eligible or the reason for leave is not OFLA-qualifying. Employers must post copies of the state-provided family leave notice in areas accessible to and regularly frequented by employees at every facility or work sites

Employee Notice: An employer may require employees to give at least 30 days' written notice of the need for family leave. The employer may require the employee to include an explanation in general, non-medical terms of the need for the leave in the notice. If an employee is unable to give 30 days' notice, the employee is encouraged to give the employer as much advance notice as is practicable. Employees who need to take family leave in an unanticipated or emergency situation must give employers oral or written notice within 24 hours of starting leave and must provide written notice within 3 days after the employee returns to work. An employer may require written notice from the employee within three days of returning to work. An employer may request additional information to determine whether a leave qualifies under the law, except in cases of parental leave. An employer may provisionally designate leave as leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act until sufficient information is received. If an employee fails to provide the required notice, the employer may reduce the period of family leave by 3 weeks and the employee may be subject to disciplinary action under a uniformly applied policy or practice of the employer. An employer may not reduce an employee's available OFLA or take disciplinary action unless it has posted the required notice or can establish the employee had actual notice of the notice requirement. Further, Federal regulations prohibit reducing the leave period under FMLA but permit an employer to delay the start of leave due to improper notice. An employer may require an employee on leave to periodically report to the employer on his or her status and intention to return. When an employee does not return to work after the end of the authorized period of leave, an employer having reason to believe that the continuing absence may qualify as Oregon Family Leave Act leave must request additional information and may not treat the continuing absence as unauthorized unless the requested information is not provided or does not support Oregon Family Leave Act qualification.

Obligation to Provide Certifications or Documents Supporting Need for Leave: An employer may require medical certification when leave is taken due to an employee's or family member's serious health condition or for sick child care. If an employee is required to provide 30 days' notice of a leave, the employer may require that medical certification be provided before the leave starts. If prior notice is not given, medical verification must be provided within 15 days of the employer's request. An employer may require medical certification for a sick child care leave but only after the employee has taken more than 3 days of leave during any one year period. The employer must pay for the medical evaluation if not covered by insurance. An employer may not require a second opinion for this purpose.

Paid?: No. However, the employee or employer may choose to have the employee's family leave run concurrently with any other paid or unpaid leave. The employer may require an employee to use available paid leave during OFLA leave, and may determine the order in which paid leave is to be used if consistent with a collective bargaining or other written agreement between the employee and the employer or an employer policy, but only if the employer provides written notice: 1) prior to the commencement of the leave, that accrued paid leave is to be used during OFLA leave, or 2) within 5 business days of the employee's notice of unforeseeable leave that the employee will be required to use accrued paid leave. Employers can require the use of paid leave during family leave, however, employers must give prior written notice of such requirement before leave begins. If leave begins without advance notice, employers must provide this written notice within two business days after receiving an employee's notice of the need for leave.

Note: If leave qualifies under state and federal law and an employee takes part-day leave, such employee's pay can be reduced without jeopardizing the employee's exempt status. If the leave qualifies under state law only, reducing an employee's pay for part day absences jeopardizes the employee's exempt status under state law.

Benefits: OFLA does not require benefits be maintained during leave. However, if the employer maintains benefits for employees on other types of leave (e.g., personal leave of absence), the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries takes the position that it is discriminatory to deny benefits to an employee simply because they are using leave under OFLA. If an employer chooses to provide benefits, benefits must be provided at the same payment terms that applied before the leave. In any case, all benefits must be reinstated at prior levels immediately upon the employee´s return.

Reinstatement: On return from family leave, employees must be restored to their former positions. If an employee's original position has been eliminated, the employee must be restored to a position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. If an equivalent position is unavailable at a returning employee's job site, the employee can be offered an equivalent position at a job site located within 20 miles of the former work site. An employee is not entitled to reinstatement to her former position if they would have been bumped even if OFLA leave were not taken. If an employee provides unequivocal notice of her intent not to return from OFLA leave, the employee may complete the leave (if the need still exists), but the employer is under no obligation to hold the employee's position open or to restore the employee to their prior position or benefits except as required by COBRA.

Other Important Definitions/Requirements: "Child," for the purposes of parental and sick child leave only (not for the purposes of serious health condition leave or leave for the death of a family member under ORS 659A.159 (1) (e)), means a biological, adopted, foster or stepchild, the child of an employee's same-gender domestic partner or a child with whom the employee is or was in a relationship of in loco parentis. The child must be: (a) Under the age of 18; or (b) An adult dependent child substantially limited by a physical or mental impairment as defined by ORS 659A.104 (1)(a), (3), and (4).

Relationship with Other Leave: Leave for non-serious child conditions may not run concurrently with FMLA. State family leave is to be taken concurrently with federal FMLA leave. Any FMLA leave taken will count as state leave if the employee is eligible for state family leave. Employers subject to both state and federal leave laws must use the law and regulations that are more beneficial to employees' circumstances.

Absence Specifications