Oregon Maternity Leave Law: Eligibility, Benefits, and Job Protection

Oregon maternity leave comes from two state programs that work together: Paid Leave Oregon pays you a weekly benefit for up to 12 weeks of bonding time (14 weeks if you have pregnancy or childbirth complications), and the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) guarantees your job is waiting when you return. If your employer is large enough, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act adds a third layer of job protection on top. The programs have different eligibility rules and don’t all run at the same time, so how you sequence them affects both your paycheck and how long you can stay out.

How Much Time Off and How Much Pay

Paid Leave Oregon provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave within a 52-week benefit year to bond with a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement. If you experience complications from pregnancy or childbirth, you can receive an additional two weeks, for a total of 14.¹ You can take the leave in one block or split it up, but the minimum increment is one full workday. There is no waiting period; benefits can start the first day of approved leave.

OFLA separately entitles eligible employees to 12 weeks of job-protected leave per year for parental purposes. Here is the rule that trips people up: Paid Leave Oregon benefits and OFLA leave do not run at the same time. If both cover your reason for leave, you pick which to use first, and you cannot stack them into a single window.² Depending on your circumstances and your employer’s policies, that can mean 12 weeks of paid leave followed by 12 weeks of unpaid but job-protected OFLA leave.

Federal FMLA works differently. It runs concurrently with OFLA, so those two clocks tick down together rather than separately.²

Who Qualifies

Paid Leave Oregon

Paid Leave Oregon covers nearly every worker in the state regardless of employer size. You qualify if you earned at least $1,000 in wages during your base year (the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your benefit year) or during your alternate base year.¹ Earnings from multiple covered employers count together, which brings in many part-time and gig workers.

Self-employed people and tribal government employees are not automatically enrolled but can elect coverage. Self-employed workers must have earned at least $1,000 in taxable income during their base year, opt in, and pay contributions before filing a claim.¹

Oregon Family Leave Act

OFLA applies to employers with 25 or more employees on the payroll during at least 20 calendar workweeks in the current or preceding year.³ For parental leave, you qualify after 180 days with that employer. Most types of OFLA leave also require averaging at least 25 hours per week during those 180 days, but parental bonding leave is an exception; the 180-day tenure is enough.⁴

Federal FMLA

FMLA covers you if your employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles and you have worked there at least 12 months with at least 1,250 hours in the past year. It provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year and requires restoration to the same or a virtually identical position, with benefits like health insurance, retirement contributions, and accrued seniority resuming at the same level as before.⁵

OFLA’s rules are more generous than FMLA’s in several ways: it kicks in at 25 employees rather than 50, requires 180 days on the job rather than 12 months, and has no minimum-hours requirement for parental leave. Many Oregon workers who don’t qualify for FMLA still qualify for OFLA.

How Your Weekly Benefit Is Calculated

Your weekly Paid Leave Oregon benefit depends on how your average weekly wage compares to the statewide average weekly wage, using a two-tier formula:¹

If your average weekly wage is at or below 65% of the state average weekly wage, you receive 100% of your own average weekly wage.
If your average weekly wage is above 65% of the state average, you receive 65% of the state average, plus 50% of whatever portion of your wages exceeds that 65% threshold.

The benefit is capped at 120% of the statewide average weekly wage and floored at 5% of it.¹ Because the statewide average changes each year, the exact dollar amounts shift annually.

You can use accrued PTO, sick leave, or vacation while receiving Paid Leave Oregon benefits. Your employer decides whether the combined total can exceed 100% of your normal wages and can also set the order in which different accrued balances get used.⁶

What Comes Out of Your Paycheck

Paid Leave Oregon is funded through payroll contributions. For 2026, the total contribution rate is 1% of gross wages up to a maximum wage of $184,500, split 60/40 between employee and employer.⁷ Your share works out to roughly 0.6% of your wages. Employees at small employers (fewer than 25 workers) still pay their 60% share even though those employers are not required to pay their 40%. Some employers voluntarily cover the employee portion as a benefit.¹

Your Job When You Come Back

OFLA is the main source of return-to-work rights. Your employer must put you back in the same position you held before leave, as long as that position still exists. If it was eliminated for legitimate business reasons while you were out, you are entitled to an equivalent position with the same pay, benefits, and working conditions. If no equivalent role is available at your original worksite, the employer must offer one within 50 miles if one exists.⁸

Retaliation against employees for requesting or taking family leave is illegal. That covers firing, demotion, schedule changes, or any other adverse action tied to the leave, and it protects you even for asking about your rights.⁹ Complaints go to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

Health Insurance While You’re Out

Your employer must keep your health coverage in force during OFLA or FMLA leave on the same terms as before. If your leave is paid (say, through accrued PTO), your premium share continues to come out through payroll. During unpaid leave, you and your employer need to agree on a payment arrangement in advance: prepay, installment payments while you are out, or catch up after you return.¹⁰

Notice and Documentation

For planned leave, give your employer at least 30 days’ notice. If something unexpected forces earlier leave, notify your employer within 24 hours of starting (verbal is fine) and follow up with written notice within three days. Skipping the written notice can reduce your first weekly Paid Leave Oregon payment by 25%.¹¹

Birth parents generally need medical documentation from a healthcare provider confirming the pregnancy and expected due date. For adoption or foster placement, court orders or placement papers serve the same purpose. Forms are on the Oregon Employment Department website.¹²

If you also qualify for federal FMLA, your employer may ask for a separate medical certification. The Department of Labor publishes optional forms, but employers must accept certification in any format, including a letter on a provider’s letterhead, and can only ask for medical information directly related to the condition requiring leave.¹³

How to Apply Through Frances Online

Paid Leave Oregon claims are filed through Frances Online, the state’s digital portal.¹² You create an account with your Social Security number or ITIN and basic contact information, then enter your leave details, upload documentation, and confirm employment and earnings history.

The Oregon Employment Department reviews your application against employer records. A decision usually takes two to four weeks.¹² Approval notices and requests for more information come through the Frances Online messaging center. Approved payments arrive by state-issued debit card or direct deposit.

If Your Claim Is Denied

Before filing a formal appeal, check whether the denial was based on missing or incorrect information. You can send a message through Frances Online or call 833-854-0166 to provide additional documentation, and the department may reverse the decision without a hearing.¹⁴

If the decision stands, you can request a formal hearing two ways: through the “File an appeal” option in Frances Online, or by mailing a completed Request for Hearing Form to the Oregon Employment Department in Salem. The form is on the Paid Leave Oregon website under Resources.¹⁴

Taxes on Your Benefits

Paid Leave Oregon benefits are not subject to Oregon state income tax. Federal treatment is a separate question: the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2025-4 addressing the taxation of state paid family and medical leave payments made on or after January 1, 2025, and the Oregon Department of Revenue directs taxpayers to the IRS for guidance on the federal side.¹⁵ Set aside a portion of your benefits for possible federal tax so you are not caught short at filing time.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 657B – Family and Medical Leave Insurance
2
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Oregon Family Leave Act – For Workers
3
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 659A.153 – Covered Employers
4
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 659A.156 – Eligible Employees; Exceptions
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Employee Protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act
6
Paid Leave Oregon. Common Questions
7
Paid Leave Oregon. Employers
8
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 659A.171 – Restoration to Position
9
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 659A.183 – Retaliation Prohibited
10
Cornell Law Institute. Oregon Administrative Code 101-030-0015 – Continuation of Core Benefit
11
Paid Leave Oregon. Applying for Medical Leave
12
Paid Leave Oregon. Employees and Paid Leave Oregon
13
U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA Forms
14
Paid Leave Oregon. Paid Leave Oregon Employee Guidebook
15
Oregon Department of Revenue. Paid Leave Oregon Benefits – Individuals