The Oregon state legislature has made several changes to the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) to align it with Oregon’s Paid Family Leave Act. Changes to the OFLA include the following:
- The definition of “family member” now includes any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with a covered individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.
- After returning to work after taking family leave, if an equivalent position is not available at the job site of the employee’s former position, an employer is now required to offer the employee an equivalent position at a job site located within 50 miles of the job site of the employee’s former position, if such a position is available. If equivalent positions are available at multiple job sites, the employer must first offer the employee the position at the job site that is nearest to the job site of the employee’s former position.
- For purposes of determining the amount of family leave that an eligible employee is entitled to take within a given one-year period, “one-year period” means: (a) A period of 52 consecutive weeks beginning on the Sunday immediately preceding the date on which family leave commences; or (b) A consecutive 12-month period, such as a calendar year commencing on January 1 and ending on December 31, a fiscal year, the 12-month period that ends on the date that the employee uses any family leave or the 12-month period that begins on the date on which an employee commences a period of family leave.
The first two changes take effect on September 3, 2023, the same date that employees may begin taking benefits under the Paid Family Leave Act. The “one-year period” changes take effect on July 1, 2024. For more information on the changes, click here.
