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
- Involves multiple treatments
- Involves a period of disability due to pregnancy
If your employer has an equivalent plan instead of participating in the state’s Paid Leave Oregon plan, you must apply separately under the equivalent plan. Ask your employer for instructions on how to do that.
To apply for benefits under the state plan, follow these steps:
Step 1: Have your documents
You’ll need at least 1 of the following:
- Paid Leave Oregon Verification of Serious Health Condition Form. Paid Leave provides this form. Forms will be available on the Forms page when the program starts.
- Oregon and Federal Family and Medical Leave Health Care Provider Certification. Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI) provides this form.
- Other documentation from a health care provider that includes a brief description of the serious health condition, the date it started, and the date it is expected to end.
Step 2: Give notice to your employer
- 30-day notice: If you know you will need to use Paid Leave, you need to let your employer know at least 30 calendar days before taking leave, unless giving advance notice is not possible for you.
- 24-hour emergency notice: In an emergency, you must tell your employer (this does not have to be in writing) that you need to use Paid Leave within 24 hours. Then, give written notice to your employer within 3 days after starting leave.
Step 3: Apply for benefits
When you are ready to apply for benefits, you will use Frances Online. Employees can begin creating an account on Frances Online in August 2023.
Frances Online is the quickest and easiest way to apply for Paid Leave. You can answer questions from Paid Leave and check the status of your application or payments. 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.
At the earliest, you can submit your application 30 days before you start your leave. At the latest, you can submit it 30 days after you start your leave.
Learn more about what happens after you apply
Have questions? Visit our commonly asked questions about Frances Online.
Create an account:
Frances Online
- You can take up to 12 weeks paid leave in a 52-week period (starting from the day your leave begins). You can take a week or a single day off at a time based on what your serious health condition needs.
- You may be able to take up to 2 additional weeks (up to 14 total weeks) if you are pregnant, have given birth, or have health needs because of childbirth.
- Paid Leave Oregon pays you every week while you are on paid leave. The amount depends on how much you earned the year before. Some employees will get 100% of their wages.
- You can use the benefits calculator for an estimate of how much your weekly benefits may be if you take paid leave.
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 cannot 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 under the law.
- If your position no longer exists when you return from paid leave and your employer has 25 or more employees, they must give you a similar position. If your employer has less than 25 employees and your position is no longer available, they can give you a different position when you return with similar job duties and the same benefits and pay.
