As a reminder for employers that have employees in Oregon, Senate Bill 858 was signed by Governor Tina Kotek on May 14, 2025, as a technical update to Oregon’s paid family and medical leave insurance program, commonly known as Paid Leave Oregon. The measure clarified how Paid Leave Oregon benefits coordinated with accrued paid leave,
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As a reminder for employers that have employees in Oregon, Senate Bill 858 was signed by Governor Tina Kotek on May 14, 2025, as a technical update to Oregon’s paid family and medical leave insurance program, commonly known as Paid Leave Oregon.
The measure clarified how Paid Leave Oregon benefits coordinated with accrued paid leave, updated the disqualification rule for weeks in which an employee was eligible for state or federal unemployment wage-replacement benefits, created an authorized-agent process for deceased or incapacitated claimants, and clarified when contribution obligations stopped under an approved employer-offered equivalent plan.
The update applied to Oregon employers with employees in Oregon, and amendments became operative on January 1, 2026.
What Employers Need to Do
- Review leave-coordination practices to confirm whether employees may use accrued paid leave with Paid Leave Oregon benefits and whether the employer will allow stacking above full wage replacement.
- Confirm policies or collective bargaining agreements address the order in which different types of accrued paid leave will be used when more than one type is available.
- Ensure payroll, leave, and benefits teams understand that Paid Leave Oregon benefits are not payable for any week in which an employee is eligible for wage-replacement benefits under a state or federal unemployment benefits program.
- For employers with an approved equivalent plan, verify contribution practices so that employer and employee contributions stop for calendar quarters beginning on or after the plan’s effective date and for the duration of the approved plan.
Overview
- SB 858 made targeted technical changes to the administration of Oregon’s paid family and medical leave insurance program.
- The amendments to Oregon Revised Statutes section 657B.030 confirmed that Paid Leave Oregon benefits were in addition to paid sick time, vacation leave, or other paid leave earned by an employee, but as a default rule, the combined amount could not exceed full wage replacement during the leave period.
- An employer could choose to allow employees to use accrued paid leave in addition to Paid Leave Oregon benefits, even if the combined amount exceeded full wage replacement, and the employer could determine the order in which different types of accrued leave were used, subject to any agreement or collective bargaining agreement.
- The law also updated the disqualification rule so that, in any week an employee was eligible for workers’ compensation time-loss benefits or wage-replacement benefits under a state or federal unemployment benefits program, the employee was disqualified from receiving Paid Leave Oregon benefits for that week.
- For employers with an approved employer-offered equivalent plan, the law clarified that neither the employer nor covered employees were required to make Paid Leave Oregon contributions for any calendar quarter beginning on or after the effective date of the approved plan and continuing for the duration of the plan.
- For employers, it clarified how Paid Leave Oregon coordinated with accrued paid leave and equivalent-plan contributions, directly affecting payroll administration, paid-time-off practices, and compliance.
- It also confirmed that employees generally could not receive Paid Leave Oregon benefits for a week in which they were eligible for state or federal unemployment wage-replacement benefits, while giving employers clearer flexibility on whether accrued paid leave could be used only up to full wage replacement or beyond it.
Why This Matters
For employers, it clarified how Paid Leave Oregon coordinated with accrued paid leave and equivalent-plan contributions, directly affecting payroll administration, paid-time-off practices, and compliance.
It also confirmed that employees generally could not receive Paid Leave Oregon benefits for a week in which they were eligible for state or federal unemployment wage-replacement benefits, while giving employers clearer flexibility on whether accrued paid leave could be used only up to full wage replacement or beyond it.
Key Risks for Employers
- Applying inconsistent leave-stacking practices or failing to define whether accrued paid leave may be used above full wage replacement.
- Continuing to collect employer or employee contributions after an approved equivalent plan should have stopped contribution obligations.
- Allowing Paid Leave Oregon benefits to overlap with weeks in which an employee was eligible for state or federal unemployment wage-replacement benefits.
- Failing to coordinate properly when claim-related communications or appeals involve an authorized agent or another representative acting on behalf of a deceased or incapacitated covered individual.
Additional Information
The law also updated Paid Leave Oregon claim administration by allowing an authorized agent to act on behalf of a deceased or incapacitated covered individual and by clarifying related confidentiality and appeal-representation rules.
Source References
- Oregon SB 858 – Relating to the administration of the family and medical leave insurance program; and prescribing an effective date.
- Oregon Secretary of State (SOS) Administrative Rules – Paid Leave Oregon (471-070-0001)
Resources
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