Oregon FMLA And Leave Law Guidelines And Requirements

The Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that applies to employer organizations with 50 or more employees for 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year.

The Family & Medical Leave Act does not take the place of other sources of leave, including Oregon's FMLA and other state leave laws. To the extent an organization subject to the FMLA is also subject to a state leave law, it must comply with both the FMLA and the state leave law.

The challenge in coordinating compliance with federal and state law is that the state leave laws may differ from FMLA law in employee eligibility criteria, as well as the length and type of protection.

Oregon's FMLA And Other Leave Laws

Oregon has three basic laws that require employers to provide family leave to their employees. These include: the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA); and the Oregon Military Family Leave Act (OMFLA).

Although there are a few exceptions, OFLA and FMLA generally provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year and OMFLA provides for 14 days of unpaid leave per deployment for the following purposes:

• For the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child (parental leave)To care for a family member with a serious health condition or the employee's own serious health condition (serious health condition leave)
• For pregnancy disability or prenatal care (pregnancy disability leave)
• To care for a sick child who does not have a serious health condition, but requires home care, known as sick child leave (OFLA only)
• To care for a seriously ill or injured service member or veteran (26 weeks) (FMLA only)
• Because of a "qualifying exigency" arising out of a family member being on or called to active military duty (FMLA only)
• Because of a spouse or same-gender domestic partner being called to or on leave from active military duty (OMFLA only)
• Bereavement leave is two weeks of leave to make funeral arrangements, attend the funeral or to grieve a family member who has passed away (OFLA only)

For more information on Oregon leave laws, go to their website at https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/Pages/oregon-family-leave.aspx

How To Determine Whether FMLA Guidelines Or State Guidelines Apply In Oregon

Here are some guidelines if your organization is subject to both FMLA and Oregon leave law:

• If an eligible employee wishes to take a leave that is covered under both the state leave law and the FMLA, then generally the leave can be run concurrently. In other words, it can be counted towards satisfying the requirements under both state and federal law simultaneously
• If an eligible employee wishes to take a leave covered under the FMLA, but not also covered under the state leave law, that leave can only count towards satisfaction of the FMLA requirements. The total amount of leave available under the state law would still be available to that employee
• If an eligible employee wishes to take a leave covered under the state leave law, but not also covered under the FMLA, that leave can only count towards satisfaction of the state leave law. The total amount of leave available under the FMLA (e.g., 12 weeks or 26 weeks) would still be available to the employee

Note: The above is excerpted from our FMLA Training & Certification Program. Click to read some additional FMLA compliance tips from this course:

• About-FMLA-Intermittent-Leave
• About-FMLA-Return-To-Work

Recommended Training For Oregon's FMLA Requirements

From seminars to webinars to online courses, HRTrainingCenter offers a variety of FMLA compliance training courses. Simply select one of our 'Recommended Courses' or use the search box to find your desired FMLA training course.

• Certificate Program In FMLA, ADA, Compliance
• FMLA Training & Certification Program
• How To Identify And Investigate FMLA Abuse
• Integrating FMLA, ADA, COBRA, And Workers' Compensation Training & Certification Program

To find other FMLA training courses, use the search box below.