Starting in 2023, Oregon employers with at least 25 employees must provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid leave for a covered purpose (family, medical, or “safe” leave). The program will be funded with payroll contributions (40% employer/60% employee), the amount of which depends on an employee’s wages. Benefit amounts will be based on the state’s average wage and the eligible employee’s average wage.
Employers do not need to begin collecting and remitting contributions until 2022, and benefits will not be available until January 1, 2023.
Employers that already provide benefits equivalent to or greater than the state program may be exempt from Oregon’s new requirements. In addition, self-employed individuals may opt into the state program to receive benefits equivalent to those that are provided to employees. The new law provides a general framework for how the program will be administered but leaves many important aspects, including the precise percentage of wages that must be contributed to the state fund (though it is capped at 1% of employee wages), to the determination of the Director of the Employment Department.
Click here for a more complete summary of the new program. Contact your Stoel Rives attorney if you have any questions about these new requirements.