New Year’s Resolution for Oregon Employers: Compliance With Newly Updated Paid Leave Oregon Regulations

Some of the more notable updates include the following:

• Notice of Intermittent Leave – Under the previous version of the Rules, employees were required to provide 24 hours’ notice before taking each day of intermittent PLO leave. OED removed this notice requirement, explaining that the PLO statute does not currently give OED authority to establish it. Requirements for when employees must notify employers of changes to leave dates were also removed for the same reason. Removal of these provisions creates challenges for employers attempting to plan for an employee’s use of PLO leave.

The amended Rules also clarify that if an employer wishes to require employees to provide written notice of taking PLO leave, the employer must provide a written policy and procedures outlining those requirements to all Oregon employees, not just Oregon employees who are currently eligible for PLO. Employers may still require verbal notice of taking PLO leave even if they do not have a written policy and procedures in place. (Employers may require 30 days’ advance notice for foreseeable leave. For unforeseeable leave, employers may require verbal notice within 24 hours and written notice within three days of the start of leave.)

• Pre-Placement Leave – OED clarified that leave taken before the adoption or foster placement of a new child counts toward the 12 weeks of total leave per child provided for the purpose of bonding or caring for a newly placed child, even if a new PLO benefit year begins in the middle of this 12 weeks of leave.
• Job Protection and Benefits – As detailed in a prior Alert, BOLI became responsible for enforcing PLO’s job protection, antidiscrimination, and antiretaliation provisions effective January 1, 2026. In line with this change, BOLI issued an administrative order adopting rules related to job protection and benefits applicable to PLO. These rules mirrored OED’s prior Rules on job protection and benefits, which were repealed following the passage of SB 69.

As a reminder, employers must maintain an employee’s health benefits during PLO leave as if an employee were not on leave, and PLO leave is job protected for employees who have been employed for at least 90 consecutive calendar days. 

Upon return from leave:

• Employees must be restored to their former position, if it still exists, with the same rate of pay, benefits, location, job duties, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, even if the position has been renamed/reclassified or filled by a replacement worker.
• Job protection does not apply if an employee gives clear notice of their intent not to return to work from PLO leave, or the employee would have been separated or reassigned if PLO leave had not been taken, such as in the case of a group layoff or department reorganization.
• If an employee’s position is eliminated, large employers (defined as 25 or more employees) must restore the employee to any available, equivalent position for which the employee is qualified within a 50-mile radius of the employee’s former job site. Small employers may, at their discretion and based on business necessity, restore the employee to a similar position.

• Equivalent Plans – Several Rules related to employer-adopted equivalent plans were also amended. Employers with equivalent plans should consult legal counsel regarding changes, which include, among other updates, changes to the information that equivalent plan employers are required to provide in their aggregate benefit usage reports, and requiring employers with approved equivalent plans to update their employee notice poster whenever OED updates its poster requirements.

As a reminder, employers with equivalent plans must post a special notice that includes information specific to their plan. Templates are available on OED’s employer resources website.

Washington Update: In contrast to Oregon’s modest changes, Washington updated its Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) regulations to reflect the legislature’s recent overhaul to PFML job protection provisions, among other changes. Read our Washington PFML Alert on this amended law for more details.

Ballard Spahr’s Labor and Employment Group regularly advises clients on developments in federal, state, and local labor and employment laws, including new legislative and regulatory requirements in Oregon. Employers are encouraged to consult with legal counsel to ensure full compliance.

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