What happens to employees on OFLA after July 1?

Posted May 24, 2024

In early May, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries published a temporary administrative order regarding the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA). The order addresses the July 1, 2024, transition of certain employee leave reasons from the OFLA to Paid Leave Oregon (PLO).

The order amends the OFLA rules, allowing employers to rescind an OFLA leave designation that was previously approved, but won’t protect employees any longer once the changes go into effect.

After July 1, 2024, only the following reasons will qualify for OFLA leave:

• Home care for an employee’s child (both serious and non-serious health conditions) as well as school and childcare closures for public health emergencies.
• Bereavement.
• Pregnancy disability.
• Military family leave — up to 14 days per deployment, which will continue to count against available OFLA.
• Leave to go through the legal process for placement of a child for foster care or adoption (child placement leave) for two weeks, through December 31, 2024.

Employees will no longer be entitled to take OFLA for the following reasons:

• Parental leave — an employee can take time off for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child. (Employees who used 12 weeks of OFLA as parental leave could take up to 12 more weeks for sick child leave.)
• Serious health condition leave — available for an employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a family member.

Employees were allowed to take leave for a child with an illness or injury that requires home care that was not a serious health condition.

If, therefore, employers have employees on OFLA for the reasons that will no longer qualify on or after July 1, 2024, employers must:

• Notify employees in writing, as soon as practicable but no later than June 1, 2024, that the OFLA will not protect the leave on and after July 1, 2024.
• Give written information to employees that tells them they can apply for PLO. Give this to employees:
  • At the time the employer rescinds the employee's previous OFLA designation or approval, or
  • As soon as practicable but within 14 calendar days of the employee giving information that, before July 1, 2024, would have been sufficient for the employer to provisionally designate the leave as leave previously protected by OFLA.

Employers may use a notice made available by the Oregon Director of the Employment Department.

This article was written by Darlene Clabault of J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.