Paid Leave Oregon: Eligibility, Benefits, and Job Protection

Paid Leave Oregon gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks a year of partial wage replacement to bond with a new child, recover from a serious health condition, care for a sick family member, or deal with the effects of domestic violence. Benefits follow a sliding scale that pays lower-wage workers a larger share of their income, and the program is funded through payroll contributions split between employees and most employers, capped at 1% of wages.

Who Qualifies

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 begins. If you fall short there, the state will look at the most recent four completed quarters (the alternate base year) and let you qualify on that instead.¹ Full-time, part-time, and seasonal work all count. What matters is where you do the work, not where your employer is based; if you work in Oregon, you are covered.

Self-employed people and independent contractors are not automatically in the program, but they can opt in. Doing so commits you to paying contributions for at least three years and reporting your net income from Oregon self-employment each year. Tribal governments can also elect coverage for some or all of their operations.² The $1,000 earnings threshold applies either way before you can draw benefits.

What Leave You Can Take

The program covers three kinds of leave, and you can use your weeks in any combination of them.³

Family leave to bond with a child during the first year after birth, adoption, or foster placement, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition.
Medical leave for your own serious health condition, meaning an illness, injury, or impairment involving continuing treatment by a healthcare provider.
Safe leave for survivors of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking to seek legal help, relocate, get medical care, or otherwise protect themselves or their children.

“Serious health condition” refers to inpatient care, continuing treatment, or a period of incapacity, not a routine cold or dental cleaning.

How Much Time You Get

You can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave per benefit year across all three categories combined.⁴ If you experience complications or limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition including lactation, you can receive up to two additional weeks, for a maximum of 14 paid weeks.⁵

Paid Leave can be combined with unpaid leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act in the same benefit year, up to 16 total weeks, or 18 if the pregnancy extension applies. There is no waiting period, so benefits can start on your first day of leave.

You do not have to take the time all at once. Intermittent leave is allowed in one-day minimum increments; you cannot take partial days. On any day you use Paid Leave, you cannot work for any employer, including yourself if you are self-employed.²

If you also qualify for the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which covers employers with 50 or more employees and workers who have logged at least 1,250 hours over 12 months, FMLA and Paid Leave Oregon generally run at the same time when taken for the same reason. You keep whichever protections are stronger in a given situation.⁶ The 12 weeks typically overlap rather than stack.

How Much You Get Paid

Your weekly benefit is calculated against the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW), and the formula pays a larger share of income to lower-wage workers.¹

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

The benefit is capped at 120% of the statewide average weekly wage and floored at 5%. For claims with benefit years starting on or after July 6, 2025, that works out to a maximum weekly benefit of $1,636.56 and a minimum of $68.19.⁷ Both figures adjust every year.

What You and Your Employer Pay

The program is funded through a payroll contribution set by the director of the Employment Department, and it cannot exceed 1% of wages up to the Social Security wage base.¹ For 2025, the rate is the full 1% on the first $176,100 in wages.⁸

Employees pay 60% of that rate. Employers with 25 or more employees pay the other 40%. Small employers with fewer than 25 employees are not required to pay the employer share but can choose to. Even a small employer must still withhold and remit the employee’s 60%. For a worker earning $50,000 a year, the employee’s share comes out to about $300 annually.

Job Protection During Leave

Job protection kicks in once you have worked for your employer for at least 90 consecutive days. From that point, your employer cannot fire you or retaliate against you for using benefits.⁸

When you come back, you are entitled to the same position you held before, as long as it still exists. If the job was eliminated and your employer has 25 or more employees, they must offer you an equivalent position with equivalent pay and benefits at a work site within 50 miles of your former location. Employers with fewer than 25 employees have more flexibility and can place you in a different position with similar duties, matching pay, and matching benefits.¹

Your employer must keep your health coverage in place on the same terms as if you were still working; you continue paying your usual premium share. Any seniority or pension rights you accrued before leave stay intact.

How to File a Claim

If your leave is foreseeable, such as a planned surgery, an expected due date, or a scheduled foster placement, give your employer at least 30 calendar days’ notice. Oral notice is enough, though the employer can ask for it in writing.⁹ For emergencies, notify them as soon as practical.

Submit the benefits claim itself through Frances Online, the state portal, which runs around the clock. If you cannot use the site, a paper application is available, and you can call 833-854-0166.⁸ Have your Social Security Number or ITIN, your employment history, and your expected leave dates ready.

Documentation depends on the type of leave. Medical and family leave tied to a health condition require a healthcare provider to complete a certification form. Bonding claims need proof of birth, adoption, or foster placement. Safe leave claims may involve police reports, court orders, or a statement from a victim services provider. After you submit, your employer has five days to respond before the Employment Department moves the claim forward.¹⁰

Taxes on Your Benefits

Paid Leave Oregon benefits are subject to federal income tax, but the reporting depends on the type of leave. Family and safe leave benefits show up on Form 1099-G in Box 1. Medical leave benefits are reported separately on Form 1099-MISC as “Other income” in Box 3.¹¹ Oregon does not tax these benefits at the state level.

The Employment Department does not withhold federal income tax automatically. If you want tax withheld, request it when you file; otherwise, set aside part of each payment for your federal bill, especially over a long claim.

If Your Claim Is Denied

You have 60 calendar days from the date of a denial to appeal. Employers who want to contest an approval have 20. File through Frances Online or mail the Request a Hearing Form to the Employment Department in Salem. Do not send appeals directly to the Office of Administrative Hearings; Paid Leave staff must forward them.¹²

Paid Leave Oregon first tries to resolve the appeal internally. If that does not work, the case goes to the Office of Administrative Hearings for a telephone hearing before an administrative law judge. You can submit additional documents anytime between filing and the hearing. If you missed the 60-day deadline for reasons outside your control, the judge will decide whether you had good cause.

If the denial was for missing paperwork rather than ineligibility, you generally have 60 days to submit the correct documents without filing a formal appeal.¹⁰

Penalties for Misrepresentation

Willfully making a false statement or leaving out material facts to get benefits carries a 52-week disqualification, a requirement to repay everything you were not entitled to, and a financial penalty on top of the repayment.¹³ The penalty grows with repeat occurrences within a five-year window and starts at 30% for forgery or identity theft. The 52-week clock runs from the date of the false statement, not the date it is discovered.

If Your Employer Uses an Equivalent Plan

Some employers opt out of the state fund by offering a private equivalent plan. The Oregon Employment Department reviews every plan to confirm it matches or exceeds the state program: same duration, same benefit formula, and coverage for all three types of qualifying leave.¹ Equivalent plans must cover employees who have been continuously employed for at least 30 calendar days, whether full-time or part-time. If your employer passes any cost to you, your share cannot exceed what you would pay under the state program. If a plan falls out of compliance, the Employment Department can decertify it and push both employer and employees back into the state fund.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 657B – Family and Medical Leave Insurance
2
Paid Leave Oregon. Paid Leave Oregon – Common Questions
3
Paid Leave Oregon. Paid Leave Oregon – Applying for Family Leave
4
Oregon Public Law. ORS 657B.020 – Qualifying Purposes for Benefits
5
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Paid Leave Oregon Protections
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act
7
Oregon Employment Department. Minimum and Maximum Weekly Benefit Amounts to Increase for New Unemployment Insurance and Paid Leave Oregon Claims
8
Paid Leave Oregon. Employees and Paid Leave Oregon
9
Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Administrative Rule 471-070-1310 – Benefits: Employee Notice to Employers Prior to Commencing Leave
10
Paid Leave Oregon. What to Expect – Paid Leave Oregon
11
Oregon Department of Revenue. Paid Leave Oregon Benefits – Individuals
12
Paid Leave Oregon. Appeals – Paid Leave Oregon
13
Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School). Oregon Administrative Rules 471-070-1560 – Benefits: Disqualification and Penalties for Claimant Misrepresentation