Helping you make time for care
Paid Leave Oregon helps you support your employees when they need it most. Learn about what you need to do and how Paid Leave Oregon can support you.
What employers need to do to stay up to date on Paid Leave Oregon
Employer Toolkit
The Employer Toolkit has downloadable tools and resources so you can better understand your role and share information about Paid Leave Oregon with your employees.
Employer Toolkit
Learn morePaid Leave Oregon at a glance
A quick look at how Paid Leave works for employers
Employer contributions
- All employers must withhold contributions from employees’ wages and pay them on their behalf.
- Large employers (25 or more employees on average) must pay the employer portion of the Paid Leave contribution.
- Small employers (fewer than 25 employees on average) don’t pay the employer portion of the Paid Leave contribution. You still need to withhold contributions from your employees’ wages.
- All employers must protect employees’ jobs and positions if the employee has been employed for more than 90 consecutive days. This means they don’t lose their job title or role while they’re on paid leave, if the position still exists, even if the position was filled by a temporary replacement employee while they were on leave.
- Learn more about requirements for large and small employers.
Paid Leave benefits
- Employees can take up to 12 weeks (or 14 weeks for pregnancy-related conditions) of paid leave in a 52-week time frame (starting the Sunday before their leave begins).
- Employees can choose when and how to take their leave—a day or week at a time.
- Paid Leave pays your employees while they are on leave.
- You must protect employees’ jobs and roles if they have worked for you more than 90 consecutive days and the position still exists.
Who is eligible for benefits?
Eligible means someone can apply for benefits.
- If your employee works in Oregon and made at least $1,000 in Oregon in their base year before they apply for Paid Leave, they may be eligible for benefits.
- If an employee works full time, part time, or for more than one job or employer, that counts.
- Self-employed people, independent contractors, and Tribal governments aren’t automatically covered but can choose coverage.
How Paid Leave Oregon works for large and small employers
Employer size for the 2024 calendar year is based on your monthly employee counts for the previous year (January to December 2023). We count both in-state and out-of-state employees to calculate employer size. Here’s how it works:
Large employers
- If you have 25 or more employees on average, you are considered a large employer. This means you must pay the employer contribution to Paid Leave Oregon.
- All employers must protect employees’ jobs and positions if they’ve worked for you at least 90 consecutive days and the position still exists when they return from paid leave.
- If you use a third-party payroll administrator to help you process your payroll, learn more about their role.
Small employers
- If you have fewer than 25 employees on average, you are considered a small employer. This means you don't pay the employer contribution to Paid Leave Oregon.
- You still need to withhold contributions from your employees’ wages and report and pay those contributions.
- You must protect employees’ jobs and positions if they’ve worked for you at least 90 consecutive days and the position still exists when they return from paid leave.
- If you use a third party payroll administrator to help you process your payroll, learn more about their role.
- Find out more about Paid Leave and small employers.
Who is Paid Leave Oregon for?
Employees
- Employees who work in Oregon and make at least $1,000 in Oregon in their base year before the potential start date of their leave can apply for Paid Leave benefits.
- Eligible work can be full time, part time, seasonal, or with one or more employers. Learn more about how Paid Leave works for employees.
Self-employed
People who are self-employed aren’t automatically covered by Paid Leave Oregon but can choose to participate in the program. Learn more about how Paid Leave Oregon works for self-employed people.
How is Paid Leave Oregon paid for?
Both employees and large employers make contributions to Paid Leave. Learn more about your contribution rate (the amount you pay) into the program:
- The total contribution rate for 2024 is 1% of gross wages up to $168,600 (This may change from year to year, but the rate will never be more than 1%.)
- Large employers (25 or more employees on average) pay 40% of the total 1% contribution rate and employees pay 60% of the 1% contribution rate.
- Employers and employees can use this contributions calculator to estimate their contribution.
- Employers can also choose to pay all or a portion of the employee contribution as an added benefit.
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Paid Leave Oregon and other Oregon programs
Paid Leave Oregon is different from other types of leave, like the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Here are the main differences:
OFLA FMLA Chart
DownloadPaid Leave Oregon equivalent plans
What are equivalent plans?
An equivalent plan is a plan offered by an employer that:
- Has the same or more benefits than Paid Leave Oregon
- Covers all employees
- Is approved by the Oregon Employment Department (OED)
Learn more about equivalent plans.
Equivalent Plan Guidebook
DownloadSolvency Guide
Learn moreThird-party payroll administrators
What’s a third-party payroll administrator?
This is a person or company that helps an employer process payroll. Learn more about what third party administrators need to do.
What employers need to do
Learn moreTribal governments
Tribal governments aren’t automatically covered and don’t have to participate in any part of the program, but they can choose coverage. Here’s what Tribal governments need to know about Paid Leave coverage.
Tribal Governments
Learn moreAssistance grants
As a small employer, with fewer than 25 employees on average, you don’t pay the employer portion of the Paid Leave contribution, unless you’ve received an assistance grant in the last 2 years. As a small employer you may get financial support to cover costs, such as hiring a temporary employee or getting help with other wage-related costs when an employee takes leave by applying for an assistance grant. Learn how to apply for assistance grants using Frances Online.
