Oregon Paid Sick Leave Is Effective Jan. 1, 2016

Effective January 1, 2016, a new Oregon Law requires that an employer with 10 or more employees allow all employees to accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. Employers of less than 10 employees must allow employees to accrue up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per year.

Paid and unpaid sick leave must accrue at a minimum of one hour for every 30 hours worked or 1 and 1/3 hours for every 40 hours worked. Employers that “front-load” 40 hours of sick pay at the beginning of the year, that is, provide for the paid (or unpaid if less than 10 employees) sick leave at the beginning of the year, are not required to accrue the sick leave during the year.

A new employee must be able to begin accruing sick leave on the first day of employment and be eligible to begin using accrued sick leave on the 91st day of employment. Employees may carry sick leave over from one year to the next; however, an employer may limit an employee to accruing no more than 80 hours of sick leave or using no more than 40 hours of sick leave per year.

The employer must provide notice to each employee of the provisions of the sick leave law as well as a quarterly notice to employees showing the amount of their available sick leave. The state Bureau of Labor and has developed templates for the notice requirements which can be found here http://www.oregon.gov/boli/WHD/OST/Documents/Quarterly-Notice.pdf

Local Sick Leave Ordinances of Eugene and Portland Are Preempted

A provision of the bill provides that the statewide sick leave law preempts local paid sick leave ordinances and prohibits Oregon localities from passing their own paid sick leave laws.

• Eugene, Oregon. In anticipation of the state’s paid sick leave law, on June 17, 2015, the Eugene City Council voted to move the implementation date of the Eugene Sick Leave Ordinance from July 1, 2015, to January 1, 2016, effective immediately. The Council also voted to automatically repeal the ordinance on January 1, 2016, should SB 454 be signed into law (and not referred to voters).
• Portland, Oregon. It is possible that the provision of the Portland ordinance that requires employers of six or more employees to provide paid sick leave may continue after January 1, 2016.

For more on the Portland Protected Sick Leave Ordinance, go to www.portlandoregon.gov/sicktime/.

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This information is provided as a courtesy, may change and is not intended as legal or tax guidance. Employers with questions or concerns outside the scope of a Payroll Service Provider are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified CPA, Tax Attorney or Advisor.