OFLA – BOLI Issues Administrative Order

If you have 25 or more employees in Oregon keep reading…

Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries has issued a Temporary Administrative Order with proposed rule to inform organizations about the process to end and transition coverage from Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) protection to Paid Leave Oregon Insurance (PLO) protection.

As a reminder, the list of OFLA covered instances will be reduced on July 1, 2024 in accordance with SB1515.

Current OFLA list (Through June 30, 2024):

• Parental leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
• Leave for an employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a family member with a serious health condition.
• Pregnancy disability leave before or after the birth of a child or for prenatal care.
• Home care leave for a child with an illness or injury that is not a serious health condition.
• Leave for a child whose school or childcare provider has closed due to a public health emergency.
• Bereavement leave after the death of a family member.
• Military family leave for a spouse or domestic partner called to active duty.

New OFLA list (Effective July 1, 2024):

• Home care for the employee’s child (both serious and non-serious health conditions) and school/childcare closures for public health emergencies.
• Bereavement leave, limited to two weeks per family member, with a maximum of four weeks in a given leave year.
• Pregnancy disability leave.
• Military family leave (up to 14 days per deployment) will continue to count against available OFLA.
• From July 1, 2024, through January 1, 2025, OFLA will also provide up to two additional weeks of leave to facilitate the legal processes required for placement of a foster child or adoption.

These changes facilitate the change that OFLA will no longer run concurrently with Paid Leave Oregon, meaning employees will not be able to draw from both OFLA or PLO for the same qualifying events. The list of qualifying events for OFLA has been shortened, and some provisions, such as additional sick child leave for employees who take 12 weeks of parental leave, will no longer be provided.

The Temporary Administrative Order outlines that a notice must be provided to all employees about the change in qualifying events. In addition, and no later than JUNE 1, 2024, notice must be given to employees on protected OFLA leave for a qualifying event that is sunsetting, identifying the end of that protection on June 30, 2024, and the process to apply for PLO.

A copy of the Temporary Administrative Order can be found HERE.

If you have any questions on this topic, or other HR matters, please reach out.