Paid Sick Leave in Oregon 2023
Oregon passed its paid sick leave laws in the year 2015 and made it an obligation for many medium and large-sized organizations to provide this guarantee to their employees. Following is a breakdown of all of the nitty-gritty details regarding the paid sick leave laws in Oregon:
How long is Paid Sick Leave in Oregon?
For every 30 hours that an employee works, they get an hour of paid sick leave that can be accrued up to a maximum of 40 paid leave hours per year. Leave day accrual begins from the day the employee becomes affiliated with the organization and starts working for the employer. For employees that are paid at an hourly rate, they are paid at the same rate for the hours they miss on their paid sick leave.
If an employee is paid in an inconsistent manner, meaning the rate of their payment changes multiple times over the course of their work depending on various factors, then a weighted average of their regular pay rates is calculated from the previous period for which they have already been paid, and they are paid according to that average during their absence.
Employees that have a fixed salary are paid according to the number of hours they are supposed to work in a day or a week.
Eligibility of Paid Sick Leave in Oregon
Companies with ten or more employees are obliged to follow the state’s paid sick leave laws. Employers hiring fewer than ten employees are only obliged to give unpaid sick leave to their workers.
The employees have to have worked at least 90 hours for the particular employer before they become eligible to utilize their accrued sick leave hours. While they cannot use these hours, their leave days keep accumulating from the day they begin working for the organization.
How to Apply for Paid Sick Leave in Oregon?
Provided that an employee utilized over three consecutive days of sick leave, the employer is in their right to demand some form of documentation to verify the cause of absence and validate the paid sick leave with evidence.
It is also advised that employees inform their employers of their intention to utilize their sick leave hours as soon as practically possible to do so.
=> You may like to read: Paid Maternity Leave in Oregon 2022
Any Specific rule applied to Paid Sick Leave in Oregon
Regardless of whether the employees working at the organization are part time, full time, temporary, or seasonal workers, all employees are counted to determine the total number of employees for that particular employer and are eligible to reap the advantage of a paid sick leave.
An employer can choose to skip out on the paid sick leave accrual system and employ a front-loading paid sick leave systems where he or she allocates 40 hours of paid sick leave to each employee at the beginning of the year to use and the days expire as the year ends.
