Small employers
Learn how Paid Leave Oregon works for small employers.
You are a small employer if you have fewer than 25 employees. Learn more about how employer size is calculated.
A small employer is not the same as someone who is self-employed. Learn more about Paid Leave Oregon and self-employed people.
Small employers with fewer than 25 employees are not required to pay the employer contribution to Paid Leave Oregon. You must withhold your employees’ contributions. Your employees are covered by Paid Leave Oregon.
You must file quarterly reports and pay your employees’ contributions through your Frances Online account.
What’s Frances Online?
Frances Online is Oregon’s payroll reporting site. It has replaced the Oregon Payroll Reporting System (OPRS) and the Employer Account Access (EAA) portal. Frances Online is where you, as an employer, file your quarterly payroll reports.
Create an account now
Frances OnlineYou must:
- File quarterly payroll reports in Frances Online.
- Withhold, report, and submit your employees’ contributions. As a small employer with fewer than 25 employees, you do not need to pay the employer contribution, but you still need to withhold, report, and submit your employees’ contributions on the Oregon combined quarterly tax report.
- You must submit your employees' contributions through Frances Online. Learn more about how to do that.
- Give eligible employees time off. You must give your employees paid time off if they are approved for leave by Paid Leave Oregon.
- Hold your employee’s position and role, or something similar. If your employee has worked for you for more than 90 consecutive days, you must give them either their position or a new position with similar job duties and the same benefits and pay when they return from paid leave.
- Post the model notice poster in a visible place at each work site and provide a copy to all remote employees.
- The model notice poster tells employees about Paid Leave Oregon benefits as well as their rights and duties under the program.
- It should be posted or sent out in the language(s) you use to communicate with employees.
- You can download the poster in 11 languages
You don’t need to:
- Pay the employer portion of the Paid Leave Oregon contribution.
- Pay your employees while they’re on leave. Paid Leave Oregon pays your employees a portion of their wages while they’re on leave.
- Decide if an employee is eligible for benefits. Paid Leave decides if an employee can take paid leave and manages all employee applications and benefits.
If you choose to pay the employer contribution, here are some things to know:
- You contribute 40% of the total 1% contribution rate.
- You can apply for assistance grants. These grants help cover costs like hiring a temporary replacement employee or helping with other wage-related costs when an employee takes leave. Learn more about assistance grants.
- You file your report through Frances Online.
- You make your employer contribution through Frances Online.
As a small employer with fewer than 25 employees, you need to withhold, report, and submit your employees’ contributions, up to $132,900 of wages per employee, per year. Employees pay 60% of the 1% contribution rate. For example, if you have $1 million in payroll, the total employee withholding would be $6,000 (60% of the 1% contribution rate) per year.
Here’s how submit employee contributions:
- Withhold your employees’ contributions from their wages
- Create an account in Frances Online
- File your quarterly payroll reports in Frances Online
- Submit your employees’ contributions through Frances Online.
Use the contributions calculator to estimate the amount of your employees’ withholding.
What does it mean to file quarterly reports?
Each quarter you will:
- Report the total number of employees you have
- Report the total wages you paid for the quarter
- File these reports through Frances Online
For more details on how to file reports:
- Employer Guidebook
- We have video instructions on how to file in Frances Online.
As a small employer with fewer than 25 employees, if you choose to pay the employer portion of Paid Leave contributions, you can apply for assistance grants that cover:
- Hiring a temporary employee while your employee is on leave
- Other wage-related costs, such as overtime or training
Assistance grants
As a small employer, with fewer than 25 employees, you are not required to pay the employer portion of the Paid Leave contribution. If you choose to pay the employer contribution, you can 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. Learn how to apply for assistance grants using Frances Online.
