Time for your health when you need it most
Take care of yourself without worrying about a paycheck.
What is medical leave?
Medical leave is paid time off when you have a serious health condition.
A serious health condition is an illness, injury, or physical or mental condition that:
- Requires inpatient care
- Poses an imminent danger of death or possibility of death in the near future
- Requires constant or continuing care
- Involves a period of incapacity. Incapacity is the inability to perform at least one essential job function, or to attend school or perform regular daily activities, for more than three consecutive days. It includes any required treatment or recovery time relating to the same condition and must include two or more treatments by a provider or one treatment plus continued care.
- Involves multiple treatments
- Involves multiple treatments
- Involves a period of disability due to pregnancy
If your employer has an equivalent plan, you must apply under that plan instead of participating in the state’s paid leave plan. Ask your employer for instructions on how to apply.
To apply for benefits under the state plan (Paid Leave Oregon), follow these steps:
Step 1: Have your documents ready
You’ll need at least 1 of the following for each medical leave request:
- Paid Leave Oregon Verification of Serious Health Condition Form.
- Oregon and Federal Family and Medical Leave Health Care Provider Certification.
- Other documentation from a health care provider that includes the following:
- A short description of your serious health condition
- The start and end date of your serious health condition, or an explanation that the condition is chronic or permanent
- If the condition impacts you or your family member intermittently, meaning not all the time, and how often it impacts you or your family member.
- The health care provider’s:
- Name and title
- License or area of practice
- Business name, address, and phone number
- Handwritten or electronic signature
The document supporting your leave must also include the date your health care provider signed it (must be within 60 days of the leave start date).
Step 2: Give notice to your employer
- For planned leave: If you know you will need to use Paid Leave, you need to let your employer know at least 30 days before taking leave.
- For unexpected leave: If you need to take leave unexpectedly, you must tell your employer (doesn’t have to be in writing) within 24 hours of starting your leave. You must give your employer written notice within 3 days of starting your leave. If you don’t give written notice to your employer, we may reduce your first weekly benefit payment by 25%.
Step 3: Apply for benefits
Use Frances Online to apply for benefits.
Frances Online is the quickest and easiest way to apply for Paid Leave. You can check your account 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you can’t access Frances Online, send us a paper application or call us at 833-854-0166. It may take longer for you to receive a response if you send a paper application.
At the earliest, you can send your application 30 days before you start your leave. At the latest, you can send it 30 days after you start your leave.
Have questions? Visit our commonly asked questions about Frances Online.
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- You can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave in a year, which is 52 or 53-weeks starting the Sunday before your leave begins. You can take a week, a few days, or a single day off at a time.
- If you are currently pregnant, or have been pregnant, you may be able to take up to 2 additional weeks (up to 14 total weeks). Only the parent who gives birth is eligible for the additional 2 weeks of leave.
- Paid Leave pays you every week while you are receiving benefits. The amount depends on how much you earned in your base year or alternate base year. Some employees will get 100% of their wages.
- You can use the benefits calculator for an estimate of how much your weekly benefits.
What happens when I go back to work?
- Your job is protected by law while you're on Paid Leave if you have worked at least 90 consecutive days for your employer.
- Your employer must give you the time off and they can’t fire you or threaten you for taking time off if you are eligible for Paid Leave.
- You have the right to the same job you had when you left if you have worked for your employer for at least 90 consecutive days.
- If your position doesn’t exist when you return from leave and your employer has 25 or more employees, they must give you a similar position or offer you an equivalent position at a job site within 50 miles of your former position. If your employer has less than 25 employees and your position is no longer available, they can give you a different position with similar job duties and the same benefits and pay.
