Paid Leave Oregon Bulletin
May 2022 Bulletin - 05/26/2022
Paid Leave Oregon is setting the contribution rate for employers and workers at 1 percent when contributions begin in 2023.
Paid Leave Oregon will allow workers to take paid time off for some of life's most important moments. It covers leave for the birth or adoption of a child, for serious illness or injury, for taking care of a seriously ill family member, and for supporting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking.
Starting Jan. 1, 2023, workers will pay 60 percent and employers will pay 40 percent of the combined contribution rate of 1 percent. For example, if an employee made $1,000 in wages, the employee would pay $6 and the employer would pay $4 for this paycheck. Employers may choose to pay the employee portion as a benefit for their employees.
Paid leave contributions will go into a trust fund, which in turn, will provide the revenue for workers' paid leave benefits starting Sept. 3, 2023. Oregon law says the Oregon Employment Department Director will set the paid leave contribution rate annually. The law also requires the trust fund to have enough funds to pay benefits for up six months.
Paid Leave Oregon used actuarial data and to forecast that a 1 percent contribution rate would make sure the program would have enough funds to both meet the legal requirement and pay benefits for Oregon workers.
“Setting contributions at 1 percent means Paid Leave Oregon can offer lower-wage workers up to a 100 percent reimbursement rate when they need to take leave while ensuring there is enough money to support the program in the long term," said Paid Leave Oregon Director Karen Madden Humelbaugh.
Paid Leave Oregon expects the contributions rate to decrease in the future as the fund becomes solvent.
More information about Paid Leave Oregon is online. There are a number of new resources on the website, including information about contributions, benefits, equivalent plans and a new program overview.
Paid Leave Oregon will allow workers to take paid time off for some of life's most important moments. It covers leave for the birth or adoption of a child, for serious illness or injury, for taking care of a seriously ill family member, and for supporting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking.
Starting Jan. 1, 2023, workers will pay 60 percent and employers will pay 40 percent of the combined contribution rate of 1 percent. For example, if an employee made $1,000 in wages, the employee would pay $6 and the employer would pay $4 for this paycheck. Employers may choose to pay the employee portion as a benefit for their employees.
Paid leave contributions will go into a trust fund, which in turn, will provide the revenue for workers' paid leave benefits starting Sept. 3, 2023. Oregon law says the Oregon Employment Department Director will set the paid leave contribution rate annually. The law also requires the trust fund to have enough funds to pay benefits for up six months.
Paid Leave Oregon used actuarial data and to forecast that a 1 percent contribution rate would make sure the program would have enough funds to both meet the legal requirement and pay benefits for Oregon workers.
“Setting contributions at 1 percent means Paid Leave Oregon can offer lower-wage workers up to a 100 percent reimbursement rate when they need to take leave while ensuring there is enough money to support the program in the long term," said Paid Leave Oregon Director Karen Madden Humelbaugh.
Paid Leave Oregon expects the contributions rate to decrease in the future as the fund becomes solvent.
More information about Paid Leave Oregon is online. There are a number of new resources on the website, including information about contributions, benefits, equivalent plans and a new program overview.
Call: 503-370-5800
Email: PaidLeave@oregon.gov
