Oregon Adds Military Family Leave and Updates Minimum Wage Poster in 2010

Several states have recently added or expanded military family leave laws, following in the footsteps of Congress which added a military family leave provision to the federal Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 2008.   The federal FMLA applies to employers with 50 or more employees.

The Oregon Military Family Leave Act (House Bill 2744) was passed by the 2009 Legislature, expanding the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA).   Any employer already covered by the Oregon Family Leave Act, generally those with 25 or more employees in the state, is also covered by the Oregon Military Family Leave Act.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry (BOLI) has added information about the new Oregon Military Family Leave Act to its Oregon Family Leave Act Poster.  This change does affect the Oregon labor law poster.

Under HB 2744 covered employers must provide up to 14 days of leave to employees who are spouses or domestic partners of service members that are on active duty.   According to Oregon BOLI, it is an unlawful employment practice for employers to fail to grant this leave or discriminate against a spouse/domestic partner for requesting or taking the leave provided under the law.

An employee who takes military family leave is entitled to be restored to a position of employment and to the continuation of benefits, just like an employee taking OFLA-protected leave.

Oregon has also updated its Minimum Wage poster with an explanation that the state’s minimum wage will remain $8.40 in 2010.   This is the first year the minimum wage has not increased since Ballot Measure 25 was passed by Oregon voters in 2002.

Although Oregon is one of 10 states that adjusts the minimum wage annually based on inflation, the minimum wage will not change this year because the state Consumer Price Index declined by 1.48%.   The law ties Oregon’s minimum wage to increases in the CPI and gives no option for decreasing it when the CPI declines.

If you need to update your Oregon labor law poster or you would like to order a 1-Year Compliance Protection Plan for worry-free compliance, go to the Poster Compliance Center website at postercompliance.com or call 1-800-322-3636.