When Does Oregon’S Paid Family Leave Program Begin?

Oregon’s Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) program, passed in 2019, provides employees with paid leave benefits for events that impact their families, health, and safety. Most employees in Oregon are eligible for PLO, as they made at least $1, 000 the year before applying for paid leave. The base year is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the start date of your paid leave benefit year.

On September 3, 2023, benefits begin under Oregon’s paid family and medical leave law, which was passed in 2019. Oregon will be the ninth state with a paid leave program to be fully implemented. All employees, regardless of their employer size, pay into the program starting January 1, 2023. Large employers, those with 25 or more employees, also pay into the state program.

Employees can submit their application 30 days before or 30 days after starting their leave. If the leave is not foreseeable, an employee must give verbal notice within 24 hours of the beginning of the leave. Starting September 3, 2023, Oregon’s law guarantees workers the right to paid family and medical leave when they cannot work due to serious health or caregiving needs.

Employees can take up to 12 weeks paid leave in a 52-week period (starting the Sunday before the date their leave begins) for family, medical, or safe leave. PLO leave is capped at 12 weeks for sick child leave and bereavement.

After July 1, 2024, Senate Bill 1515 will significantly change and potentially lessen the burdens on leave administration in Oregon. Starting July 1, 2024, PLO leave is no longer capped, and employees may take the full amount of OFLA and PLO benefits in a year. The program will begin collecting employer and employee contributions on Jan. 1, 2023.