Starting in September 2023, the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) program will allow workers to take paid time off when they need to recover from a serious illness or injury, welcome a new child, support an aging parent or if they experience sexual or domestic violence.
The Oregon Employment Department (OED) is inviting feedback on the next batch of draft rules that will outline how this life-line program will work. These rules focus on employee wages and equivalent plans. They define:
- Wages – What kind of income will be counted as “wages” when calculating a worker’s contribution and benefit amounts.
- Equivalent plans – By law, employers may set up their own paid leave program. However, these plans must offer the same level of benefits as the state program. These rules include requirements employers’ equivalent paid leave plans must meet to qualify for approval, application requirements, the cost to submit a plan, how to make changes to a submitted plan, how and when the state terminates a plan, how an employer withdraws a plan, and more.
The public has two ways to provide public comment:
- Virtual: Register and attend the virtual public hearing from 3-5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23 or 9-11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 28.
- Email: ules@employ.oregon.gov“>Submit comments by 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 1.
More information on the rules is on the OED Administrative Rules webpage.
