Oregon Sick Time Laws: Accrual, Usage, and Employer Rules

Under Oregon sick time law, nearly every worker in the state earns at least one hour of protected sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year, starting on the first day of the job.¹ Whether that time is paid or unpaid depends on how many people your employer has on staff, but the job protection applies either way.²

Who the Law Covers

If you work in Oregon and receive pay from an employer, the law almost certainly applies to you. Hourly, salaried, commission-based, and piece-rate workers all qualify, as do home care workers and personal support workers. Full-time, part-time, and temporary status make no difference.³

A handful of workers are excluded: independent contractors, federal employees, participants in work-training programs under state or federal assistance, work-study students, railroad workers covered by the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, and people employed by their own parent, spouse, or child.³ The independent contractor line is where misclassification disputes come up most often. If your employer controls when, where, and how you work, you may be an employee under the law regardless of what your contract calls you.

Paid or Unpaid Depends on Employer Size

Every covered employee earns protected sick time. Pay turns on headcount. Employers with 10 or more employees anywhere in Oregon must pay you for that time.¹ If the employer has a location in Portland, the threshold drops to six.²

Smaller employers still have to let you earn and use the time, just without pay. The job protection is what carries the real weight here. Your employer cannot fire or discipline you for taking the leave, your benefits stay intact, and the absence stays off your disciplinary record.

How You Earn Sick Time

Accrual begins on day one at the rate of one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked. Your employer can cap usage at 40 hours a year and cap your total balance at 80 hours.¹

You cannot actually use any of that time until your 91st calendar day of employment.¹ Some employers allow earlier use, but they aren’t required to. Once you pass the 90-day mark, you can draw on sick time as it accrues.

Unused hours carry over from one year to the next, up to 40. There’s an alternative: you and your employer can agree that the employer will pay out your unused paid sick time at year’s end and credit you a fresh allotment on day one of the new year. At employers with fewer than 10 workers, the same mutual-consent arrangement is available, except the credit is for unpaid time rather than a cash payout.

Front-Loading

An employer can skip accrual entirely by front-loading at least 40 hours of sick time at the start of each year.² Front-loading means no accrual tracking and no carryover. For employees hired partway through the year, the front-loaded amount is prorated based on what’s left of the year.

If Your Employer Already Offers PTO

An existing PTO, vacation, or personal leave policy that meets or exceeds the sick time law can satisfy the requirement without a separate sick leave bucket. The first 40 hours of that policy, though, must comply with every rule under ORS 653.601 through 653.661, including allowable uses and anti-retaliation protections.⁴ An employer cannot label its entire PTO allotment as “vacation” and then refuse to let you use it for a medical appointment.

What You Can Use Sick Time For

Oregon’s authorized uses go well beyond a cold or flu. Under ORS 653.616, you can use accrued sick time for any of these reasons:¹

Your own mental or physical illness, injury, health condition, diagnosis, ongoing treatment, or preventive care such as a checkup or vaccination.
Caring for a covered family member with any of those same health needs.
Safe leave to deal with domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, bias, or stalking, including seeking legal help, going to court, relocating, or getting counseling.
Bereavement, including attending a funeral, making arrangements, or grieving a family member’s death.
Public health emergencies, such as when your workplace or your child’s school or daycare is closed by a public official, or when a health authority determines your presence in the community would endanger others.
Donating blood through a program approved by the American Association of Blood Banks or the American Red Cross.
Donating your accrued sick time to a coworker, if your employer has a policy allowing it.

Who Counts as a Family Member

The definition is broad. It covers your spouse or domestic partner; children (biological, adopted, step, foster, including adult children); parents (biological, adoptive, step, foster, or in-law); grandparents; grandchildren; and anyone related to you by blood or affinity whose relationship is the equivalent of a family bond.³ That final category is deliberately open-ended, reaching situations like a longtime unmarried partner or an aunt who raised you.

Notice and Doctor’s Notes

When you know ahead of time that you’ll need leave, your employer can require up to 10 days’ notice before the absence begins.⁵ A scheduled surgery or planned appointment fits here. You’re expected to try to schedule foreseeable absences so they don’t unduly disrupt operations.

For unexpected needs, you must notify your employer as soon as practicable and follow their usual call-in procedure, as long as that procedure doesn’t block your ability to actually use the leave.⁵ Requiring you to find your own replacement before calling in sick, for example, isn’t allowed.

An employer cannot ask for medical verification until you’ve been out more than three consecutive days.⁶ For shorter absences, they generally can’t demand a doctor’s note unless they have evidence you’re abusing the leave. That restriction keeps documentation requirements from being used as a deterrent against legitimate use.

How It Fits With Other Oregon Leave Laws

You may be covered by more than one leave law at once. Understanding the overlap helps you avoid burning through more leave than you need to.

You can use accrued paid sick time during Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) leave, and in fact Oregon’s sick time law covers every OFLA-qualifying absence.⁶ When both apply, the employer must follow whichever is more favorable to you. OFLA permits an employer to ask for medical verification after a third use of leave in a benefit year, but sick time blocks verification until the third consecutive day of absence, so the sick time rule controls.

Federal FMLA leave and OFLA leave can run concurrently when the same event qualifies under both. If you draw accrued sick time during that overlapping leave, the hours come out of your sick time bank while both the FMLA and OFLA clocks run.⁶

Paid Leave Oregon is a separate program. It’s a state insurance program funded by payroll contributions that provides partial wage replacement for up to 12 weeks of family, medical, or safe leave.⁷ Sick time and Paid Leave Oregon serve different purposes: sick time covers shorter absences at your regular pay rate, while Paid Leave Oregon handles longer absences with partial wage replacement. You can use accrued sick time for any Paid Leave Oregon-qualifying event, and depending on your employer’s policy you may be able to use sick time to supplement Paid Leave Oregon benefits.

Leaving or Returning to the Job

Oregon does not require employers to pay out unused sick leave when you quit, are laid off, or are fired. Your balance stays on the books but comes with no cash value at separation. That’s different from wages for hours already worked, which must be paid out under Oregon’s final paycheck rules.

If a former employer rehires you within 180 days, they must restore your previously accrued sick leave balance.⁸ If you hadn’t yet hit the 91st calendar day of employment before leaving, your earlier time counts toward that eligibility threshold when you return. After 180 days, nothing has to be restored and you start fresh.

If Your Employer Violates the Law

It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for using, requesting, or asking about your sick time rights. Retaliation includes firing or demoting you, but it also includes subtler moves such as cutting your hours, giving you an unjustified negative review, or reassigning you to worse shifts after you take protected leave.⁹

If your rights have been violated, you have two options. You can file a complaint with the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) through its online Complaint Resolution Center, or you can bring a civil lawsuit.¹⁰ BOLI is free and does not require an attorney, which makes it the more accessible route for most workers. BOLI can investigate, order corrective action, and impose penalties on employers who violate the law.¹¹

Document everything. If you request sick time and your employer pushes back, denies it, or treats you differently afterward, keep copies of your requests, any written responses, and notes on relevant conversations. A paper trail is often what separates a successful complaint from one that stalls.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 653
2
BOLI. Sick Time
3
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 653.601 – Definitions for ORS 653.601 to 653.661
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 653.611 – Substantially Equivalent Policies
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 653.621 – Minimum Use Increments, Notice to Employer, Rules
6
BOLI. Oregon Family Leave Act
7
Paid Leave Oregon. Employees and Paid Leave Oregon
8
Oregon Department of Administrative Services. Frequently Asked Questions About Sick Leave
9
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 653.601 – Definitions for ORS 653.601 to 653.661
10
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 653.651 – Enforcement
11
BOLI. File a Complaint