What You Need to Know about Oregon’s New 2016 Sick Leave Law

On June 22, 2015, Oregon officially became the fourth state to pass a statewide paid sick leave law after California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The bill has been signed into law by the Governor and will take effect on January 1, 2016.

Details of the Law

Employers in Oregon with 10 or more employees must provide workers with up to 40 hours of paid sick time annually. Employers with fewer than 10 employees will be required to provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick time to employees.

The new law applies to most workers in Oregon, including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees. The law excludes:

  • Independent contractors
  • Employees receiving paid sick leave under federal law
  • Specific work-training program participants
  • Specific railroad workers
  • Individuals employed by their parent, spouse, or child

Sick leave can be taken for an employee’s own illness, to care for a family member, or for any purposes allowed under the Oregon Family Leave Act.

On the Lookout

We will be looking out for details about a labor law poster for this new paid sick leave law. As always, we carefully track laws from start to finish ensuring that our customers have the most accurate information available. We spend our days researching so that you don’t have to!

Sick Leave Laws on the Rise

If you are following our blogs, I am sure you have seen the trend of sick leave laws across the country. States, cities, and counties are creating new laws at a rate we have never seen before. To keep current with this trend, it would be wise to enroll in our 1-Year Compliance Plan so that you are covered when another state creates an additional paid sick leave law. Staying on top of employment law becomes easy when you have the team at Poster Compliance Center doing the work for you!