Paid Leave Oregon Bulletin

September Spotlight: Paid Leave Benefits Are Here!

Paid Leave sends out first benefits for approved applications

The first Paid Leave Oregon benefit payments for the week of Sept. 3 went out Sept. 13. Please check your Frances Online account to make sure we approved your claim. Also, check your Action Center to see if we are waiting for more information from you. If you are taking intermittent leave, remember to claim each week you took Paid Leave. If you need help, use our Contact Us form.

It may take up to an additional week for you to receive benefits, depending on if you chose direct deposit or prepaid debit card.  

Information about Paid Leave/OFLA/Paid Time Off

Paid Leave Oregon and the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI) partnered to create three new documents to help answer your questions about how Paid Leave works with other programs, such as the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), paid time off (PTO), and job protections.

These resources are:

OFLA/Paid Leave Common Questions: A list of common questions and answers about how OFLA and Paid Leave work together.  

Job Protections Common Questions: If you have worked for your employer for 90 days, your job is protected if you take Paid Leave. Find out more, including other answers to common job protection questions.

Use of OFLA/PTO/Paid Leave Oregon: This fact sheet explains employee and employer rights and obligations when an employee asks for earned paid time off (vacation leave, sick leave, or personal time) when the employee takes protected leave under Paid Leave, under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), or both.

Paid Leave Oregon: By the Numbers!

As of Sept. 12, 2023:

• 14,460 applications received
• 3,507 applications approved
• 2:14 minutes average call hold time

You can follow our progress each week by checking out our new dashboard on the OED website. We update this dashboard every Wednesday with data from the week before.

Application Advice

Check your action center and message center for alerts!

After submitting your application, please check your Frances Online account regularly and respond to any alerts or notifications. We can’t approve your benefits until we receive a complete application.

Remember to attach your supporting documents

When you don’t attach the supporting documents we need to approve your specific type of leave, it takes longer to process your claim. Use our Employee Toolkit and the What You Need to Apply for Benefits Checklist, to make sure you have the correct documents when you apply for benefits. Using Paid Leave’s official forms also saves you time!

Reminder: Incomplete applications are only saved until Saturday night each week.

If you save an incomplete application using Frances Online, make sure you complete it before Saturday night. Frances Online can’t save any incomplete applications for a new week.

For Paid Leave, our week begins on Sunday and runs until the following Saturday night.

Your Top Questions Answered

Visitors to our website can use the “Contact Us” button to ask questions about Paid Leave. Here are some of the most common questions and their answers. 

Question: If I am self-employed and contribute to Paid Leave Oregon, how do I apply for benefits?

Answer: As a self-employed person, you’ve been using the Frances Online employer portal to pay your Paid Leave contributions. To apply for benefits, you need to create an account in the Frances Online claimant portal: https://frances.oregon.gov/Claimant/_/.

Choose Sign up for a Claimant Online account and if you prefer, use the same username and password to create your account. Log in to the claimant portal, choose Apply for Paid Leave Oregon benefits, and complete the application steps.

You will continue to use both Frances employer and employee portals and logins for your participation in Paid Leave Oregon as a self-employed person. You will keep using the employer portal for your contribution payments and annual income verification uploads, and you will use the claimant portal for anything relating to Paid Leave Oregon benefit claims. 

Question: If I cancel my claim, how long do I have to wait before filing a new one?

Answer: After choosing to cancel your claim, there is a claim cancelation approval process that must finish before the system allows you to file another claim. The process generally takes two to three business days to complete. If after three business days you still can’t file a claim, please reach out to us using the Contact Us form or by giving us a call.  

News and Events

Join our special workshop: What to do when an employee applies for Paid Leave Oregon

As an Oregon employer, you play an important role when your employee applies for Paid Leave Oregon benefits. Your timely response makes sure we can process your employee’s benefits application quickly and accurately.

Sign up now for our virtual workshop showing you what to do when your employee, or one you are representing, applies for paid leave. We will cover how to see and respond to paid leave requests in Frances Online. Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 9 a.m. This webinar is open to all employers, third party administrators, and HR professionals. Please register in advance.

Benefits Explained Virtual Series

If you are an employee or community member and want to learn more about Paid Leave Oregon benefits, this is the series for you!

Join us for a presentation and opportunity for questions and answers. All are welcome. ASL and Spanish interpretation provided. Please register in advance for the date that works best for you. 

• Thursday, Sept. 21, 3 p.m.
• Thursday, Sept. 28, 5 p.m.

Paid Leave Oregon is coming to local communities! 

Come visit Paid Leave Oregon staff at an event close to you. Look for our table and come say hello. We are excited to meet you and answer your questions. Please check out the news and events page for the full list.  

Salem: Viva Salem! – Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023

Portland:  Community Resource Fair – Wednesday, Oct.18, 2023

McMinnville: Community Baby Shower – Thursday, Oct.19, 2023

Don’t see an event you can attend, but know of an upcoming event? We are always looking for new opportunities to connect. Request an event using our website today.  

Real Voices

“Oregon Paid Leave is an opportunity that allows my husband to get his knee replacements. He has been bone-on-bone for 8-9 years and putting it off because he wanted to get closer to retirement to have fresh knees and his employer doesn't have short term (disability) to help pay for the three months he'll be off with each knee surgery and six weeks of recovery. 

This also will help me (as his coach) to help with his rehab. Financially we could not have been able to get this done.”

-Joanne
 

We want to hear your stories about how Paid Leave Oregon will help you and your family. We will use these stories, using your first name only, on social media and in marketing materials to share what having paid leave will mean for you. Please email us your story at paidleaveconnect@employ.oregon.gov.

Join the Paid Leave Oregon team! 

Are you passionate about providing benefits to others and ensuring businesses, small employers, and employees are treated fairly? Consider joining the Paid Leave Oregon team. Additional Oregon Employment Department job openings are posted in Workday.

Contact Paid Leave Oregon

Form:  Contact Us
Email: paidleave@oregon.gov
Call: 833-854-0166 (toll-free)