Vigilant Blog

News, trends and analysis in employment law, HR, safety & workers' comp

Showing posts for: Leave Laws

Photo of Lorraine Amrine
Mar 16 2023
Leave LawsWorkers’ Comp  

OREGON Q&A: Track OFLA after workers’ comp claim is denied

Question: We have an Oregon employee who has been off work due to an injury for 10 weeks. The employee claimed that the injury was work related, so we didn’t count the time off under OFLA. But our workers compensation carrier recently denied the claim. Now that the claim isn’t covered by…

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Photo of Lorraine Amrine
Mar 02 2023
Leave Laws  

OREGON: OFLA eligibility returns to normal as health emergency ends

Oregon’s declared public health emergency due to RSV is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. on March 6, 2023, so eligibility for leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) will return to normal on that date. As we previously reported, Governor Kate Brown’s public health emergency declaration temporarily shrank the minimum…

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Photo of Kara Craig
Feb 16 2023
DisabilityLeave Laws  

DOL addresses indefinite intermittent FMLA leave and remote work

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently addressed two important issues under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), approving indefinite intermittent leave due to a serious health condition and clarifying the work location of remote workers for FMLA purposes. Indefinite intermittent leave: The DOL issued an opinion letter stating…

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Photo of Kandis Sells
Dec 15 2022
Leave Laws  

WASHINGTON Q&A: Consider requiring WPFML documentation

Question: We have an employee on medical leave who applied for WPFML benefits, but the notice we received from ESD only provides a broad date range for the approved leave with no other information. How are we supposed to keep track of this? Answer: Consider requiring the employee to provide you…

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Photo of Karen Davis
Nov 17 2022
Leave LawsWage and Hour  

WASHINGTON: PFML rates to rise in 2023

As of January 1, 2023, the premiums will increase for Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program. The premium rate will be 0.8 percent (up from 0.6 percent) of each employee’s gross wages (not including tips), up to a maximum of $160,200 (the 2023 Social Security cap). The split between employers…

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Photo of Lorraine Amrine
Nov 17 2022
Q&ALeave Laws  

Q&A: Occasional exceptions to call-in policy may be needed

Question: We have an employee who is using intermittent family leave, but on a number of occasions failed to call in 30 minutes prior to shift, which is required by our call-in policy. We have told the employee that if they fail to comply with the policy again, they will…

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Photo of Chris Edison
Nov 03 2022
Q&ALeave LawsWage and Hour  

Q&A: Assess how to report PFML wages for multistate employees

Question: Our company is located in Oregon, and we have an employee who works in person two days a week at our facility in Portland. The employee teleworks the rest of the week from their residence in Vancouver, Washington. Should we report their wages to the paid family and medical…

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Photo of Lorraine Amrine
Nov 03 2022
COVID-19DisabilityLeave LawsSafety and Health  

WASHINGTON: Public health emergency ends; some duties remain

Governor Jay Inslee ended the COVID-19 public health emergency for the state of Washington on October 31, 2022, but employers still have some obligations under state law. As we previously reported, the continuing requirements for COVID-19 (coronavirus) stem from Washington’s Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA) and from an ongoing obligation to…

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Photo of Kara Craig
Sep 01 2022
Leave Laws  

Q&A: Consider history before denying leave due to improper request

Question: This morning an employee contacted his supervisor through Facebook to report that he can’t come to work for at least a week because he needs surgery. Our Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policy clearly states that employees must follow the call-in policy and complete a leave request form. Can we…

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Photo of Jon Benson
May 19 2022
DisabilityLeave Laws  

ADA claims don’t require long-term limitations

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn’t require an employee to have long-term medical issues in order to establish a disability. The employee in this case was a newly hired HR generalist who was approved for an eight-week leave of…

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