On July 13, 2023, Governor Tina Kotek signed into law a bill that makes numerous amendments to the Paid Leave Oregon statute, including clarification on the use of company-provided accrued paid leave. Effective on September 24, 2023, SB 913 removes language that indicated the use of any accrued paid leave to supplement Paid Leave Oregon benefits may be capped at 100 percent of wages. The new language simply says, “An employer may permit an employee to use all or a portion of paid sick time, vacation leave or any other paid leave earned by the employee in addition to receiving paid family and medical leave insurance benefits during a period of leave taken for family leave, medical leave or safe leave.”
This means that you may voluntarily choose to allow employees to use any amount of company-provided accrued paid leave during their time off under Paid Leave Oregon, without regard to whether it would put them over 100 percent of their regular wages. In theory, you have the corresponding right to refuse to allow employees to use company-provided accrued paid leave during their time off under Paid Leave Oregon, but this is only true if they’re not taking Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) leave at the same time. (OFLA grants employees the right to use accrued paid leave, and if it’s running at the same time as Paid Leave Oregon, the employee gets the more generous right.) Ordinarily, however, it’s most beneficial to the company to allow employees to use up their accrued paid leave while they’re off work, to reduce the possibility of stacking one leave after another.
The bill also lays out a more detailed test for determining whether a multistate worker’s wages are subject to withholding for Paid Leave Oregon contributions. Additional changes include procedures for disclosure of information by the Oregon Employment Department and special procedures for self-employed workers and tribal governments.
Tips: Determine how you will handle the use of company-provided accrued paid leave during Paid Leave Oregon. See our Model Policies, Oregon: Paid Leave Oregon Policy and Oregon Family Leave Act Policy for options under each type of leave.
