If you are expecting a baby and work, you may wonder about your rights to take time off from work for pregnancy, childbirth and bonding with your newborn. Depending on your situation, you may be eligible for leave under different laws.
Family and Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, is a federal law that requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for certain family and medical reasons. This includes during your pregnancy, when the baby is born and bonding time.
To qualify for FMLA leave, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before taking leave. You must also work at a location where your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
Oregon Family Leave Act
OFLA is a state law that requires employers with 25 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for certain family and medical reasons, just like FMLA leave.
OFLA leave only requires 180 workdays at an average of 25 hours per week. You must also work at a location where your employer has at least 25 employees.
Paid Leave Oregon program
The Paid Leave Oregon program is a new state law that provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year for virtually the same reasons as FMLA and OFLA. The program is funded by payroll contributions from both employers and employees and is administered by the Oregon Employment Department.
The program took effect this year and covers all employers regardless of size. To qualify for paid leave, you must have earned at least $1,000 in wages during the base year or alternative base year.
Combo leave
If you are eligible for both FMLA and OFLA leave, they will run concurrently (at the same time) for the same qualifying reason. However, if you are eligible for OFLA leave, but not FMLA leave (for example, because your employer has less than 50 employees), you may be able to take up to 24 weeks of leave per year: 12 weeks of OFLA leave for pregnancy disability or parental leave, plus another 12 weeks of OFLA leave for sick child leave.
If you are eligible for both FMLA/OFLA leave and paid leave under the Paid Leave Oregon program, they also run concurrently up to a maximum of 16 weeks of combined leave per year (or 18 weeks if you have a pregnancy-related disability).