Oregon Administrative Code

471-070-0920 Confidentiality: Responsibility of Paid Leave Oregon Staff (1) Paid Leave Oregon staff must safeguard the confidentiality of customer information collected or obtained and disclose information about the customer only as authorized by law and as necessary to administe…

471-070-0930 Confidentiality: Permissible Disclosures In accordance with the disclosure authorized in ORS 657B.400(2), the director may, at the director’s discretion, disclose otherwise confidential information: (1) Regarding details specific to the claimant’s benefits claim: (a)…

471-070-1000 Benefits: Definitions (1) “Affinity,” as the term is used in ORS 657B.010, means a relationship that meets the following requirements: (a) There is a significant personal bond that, when examined under the totality of the circumstances, is like a family relationship;…

471-070-1010 Benefits: Eligibility and Qualification for Benefits (1) For an individual to be eligible to receive Paid Leave Oregon benefits, the individual must: (a) Be one of the following: (A) An employee; (B) A self-employed individual who has elected coverage under ORS 657B.…

471-070-1015 Benefits: Leave from Work (1) For an individual to be considered as taking leave from work, the individual must: (a) Be otherwise expected to be available to work a work day or work week; and (b) Be unable to perform their employment duties due to a qualifying purpos…

471-070-1020 Benefits: Assignment of Wages and Income (1) For purposes of Paid Leave Oregon benefits, subject wages shall be assigned to the calendar quarter in which they are paid, in the same manner that Paid Leave Oregon contributions are payable pursuant to ORS 657B.150. (2) …

471-070-1030 Benefits: Maximum Amount of Benefits in a Benefit Year In any given benefit year, a claimant shall not receive Paid Leave Oregon benefits established under ORS 657B.340 that exceed an amount equal to: (1) The employee’s weekly benefit amount multiplied by 12 for any …

471-070-1040 Benefits: Calculation of Days and Weeks Worked (1) The number of work days in a work week is based on the average number of work days worked by an employee at all places of employment. (2) There is a maximum of seven work days in a work week. (3) There is a maximum o…

471-070-1100 Benefits: Application for Benefits (1) To request Paid Leave Oregon benefits provided under the state plan established in ORS 657B.340, a claimant must submit an application for benefits. An application must be submitted online or by another method approved by the de…

471-070-1110 Benefits: Verification of Family Leave to Care for and Bond with a Child (1) A claimant applying for Paid Leave Oregon benefits to care for and bond with a child during the first year after the child’s birth must provide one of the following forms of verification: (a…

471-070-1115 Benefits: Verification of Pre-placement Leave (1) A claimant applying for Paid Leave Oregon benefits for pre-placement leave, must provide one of the following forms of verification that confirms the intended adoption or foster care placement: (a) A copy of a court o…

471-070-1120 Benefits: Verification of a Serious Health Condition (1) A claimant applying for Paid Leave Oregon benefits for their own serious health condition or to care for a family member with a serious health condition must provide one of the following forms of verification: …

471-070-1130 Benefits: Verification of Safe Leave (1) A claimant applying for Paid Leave Oregon benefits for safe leave must provide verification certifying the claimant or the claimant’s child as defined in OAR 471-070-1000 is a survivor of domestic violence, harassment, sexual …

471-070-1200 Benefits: Claim Processing; Additional Information In addition to the information required from a claimant under OAR 471-070-1100 and OAR 471-070-1205, the department may request that a claimant provide additional information necessary to establish facts relating to …

471-070-1205 Benefits: Weekly Claims (1) A claimant taking Paid Leave Oregon benefits on an intermittent leave schedule or for more than one qualifying purpose as described in OAR 471-070-1430, must file a weekly claim in order to receive Paid Leave Oregon benefits for that week.…

471-070-1210 Benefits: Updates to a Claim for Leave (1) After submitting an application for benefits as specified in OAR 471-070-1100, a claimant must notify the department within 10 calendar days of any changes to the information provided on their application and provide additio…

471-070-1220 Benefits: Cancellation of a Claim A claim may be cancelled at any time provided: (1) A request to cancel has been submitted online or in another method approved by the department; (2) No leave was taken under the claim; (3) Benefits have not been paid for the claim. …

471-070-1230 Benefits: Administrative Decisions (1) Administrative decision shall be made on timely submitted applications and claims in accordance with ORS 657B.100 and shall be based on information available from the following sources: the department’s records, information prov…

471-070-1250 Benefits: Claimant Designated Representative (1) A claimant may designate as a claimant designated representative an individual, 18 years of age or older, who is authorized by the claimant to represent the claimant by exchanging information with the Paid Leave Oregon…

471-070-1260 Benefits: Authorized Agent of an Incapacitated or Deceased Claimant (1) The director may designate an individual as an authorized agent to act on behalf of an incapacitated claimant or on behalf of a deceased claimant as specified in ORS 657B.090(5). The Paid Leave O…

471-070-1300 Benefits: Written Notice Poster to Employees of Rights and Duties (1) The director shall make available to employers a model Paid Leave Oregon notice poster that meets the requirements of ORS 657B.440. (2)(a) Each employer must display the department’s notice poster …

471-070-1310 Benefits: Employee Notice to Employers Prior to Commencing Leave (1) Except as provided in ORS 657B.040(5) for safe leave, an eligible employee must give notice to their employer when commencing a period of family, medical, or safe leave. (2) If the leave is foreseea…

471-070-1320 Benefits: Communication to Employers and Employee Application for Benefits (1) After a claimant has filed an application or updated their claim for Paid Leave Oregon benefits, the department shall notify any employers from whom the claimant is requesting paid leave a…

471-070-1350 Benefits: Active Benefit year and Benefit Draw Down (1) If the department determines that a claimant has been covered under at least one equivalent plan in the 12 months prior to their requested Paid Leave Oregon-covered leave start date, the department may request i…

471-070-1410 Benefits: Initial and Amended Monetary Determinations (1)(a) When a claimant files an application for benefits as described in OAR 471-070-1100, which establishes a new benefit year, the department shall examine the application for benefits and, on the basis of infor…

471-070-1420 Benefits: Leave Periods and Increments (1) A claimant may request family, medical, or safe leave provided under ORS chapter 657B in either consecutive or intermittent periods of leave. (2) Notwithstanding section (1) of this rule, a claimant may take pre-placement le…

471-070-1430 Benefits: Simultaneous Qualifying Purposes (1) A claimant may take Paid Leave Oregon for more than one qualifying purpose under ORS 657B.020 during the same week, provided the claimant submits a separate and complete application as described in OAR 471-070-1100 for e…

471-070-1440 Benefits: Weekly Benefit Proration (1) A claimant who takes leave in work day increments, as described in OAR 471-070-1000, shall be paid a prorated benefit amount based on the number of work days of leave taken in the work week. (2) The benefit amount paid for a wor…

471-070-1445 Benefits: Self-Employed Benefit Calculation (1) For any self-employed individual who elects Paid Leave Oregon coverage under OAR 471-070-2010 and pays contributions as provided in OAR 471-070-2030, the weekly benefit amount that an individual may qualify for is deter…

471-070-1450 Benefits: Benefit Payment Methods (1) Paid Leave Oregon benefits shall be paid by such method as the director may approve. (2) The department’s primary payment method to any claimant approved to receive Paid Leave Oregon benefits shall be through direct deposit into …

471-070-1460 Benefits: Lost, Stolen, Destroyed, or Forged Benefit Checks (1) When a benefit check has been lost, stolen, destroyed, or forged and for purposes of this rule: (a) A benefit check is “lost” if the claimant never received an issued check, and the check’s whereabouts i…

471-070-1465 Benefits: Payment Due to a Deceased Individual and Abandoned Payment (1) In the event of the death of an individual to whom Paid Leave Oregon benefit payments totaling $10,000 or less are owed and where the decedent’s estate is not subject to probate, the department …

471-070-1470 Benefits: Benefit Payment Offsets, Withholdings and Reductions (1) After any benefit reduction under ORS 657B.040, a claimant’s weekly benefit payment may be reduced, as applicable, according to the priority order set out in section (2) of this rule before the depart…

471-070-1480 Benefits: Federal and State Voluntary Tax Withholding (1) A claimant receiving Paid Leave Oregon benefits can elect to voluntarily have federal or state personal income tax withholding. To elect voluntary withholding, the claimant must notify the department on an app…

471-070-1500 Benefits: Review of Overpaid Benefits (1) The department may review an overpayment of benefits to determine the cause of the overpayment and whether the claimant is liable for repayment of the benefits and any applicable penalties. (2) The department’s review of the …

471-070-1510 Benefits: Repayment of Overpaid Benefits; Interest (1) The director may issue an assessment to a claimant for an overpayment each time a claimant receives Paid Leave Oregon benefits to which the claimant was not entitled. (2) If the director determines that a claiman…

471-070-1520 Benefits: Waiver Recovery of Overpayments (1) A claimant may request a waiver for recovery of overpayments from the department in the manner specified by the department in its instructions. (2) In accordance with ORS 657B.332(5), the director may waive, in whole or i…

471-070-1550 Benefits: Penalties for Employer Misrepresentation (1) In accordance with ORS 657B.332(2), the director may assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000 against an employer each time the employer makes or causes to be made a willful false statement or willful failure to re…

471-070-1560 Benefits: Disqualification and Penalties for Claimant Misrepresentation (1) In accordance with ORS 657B.332(3), it is unlawful for a claimant to willfully make a false statement or willfully fail to report a material fact in order to obtain Paid Leave Oregon benefits…

471-070-2000 Self-employed: Definition “Taxable income from self-employment” means Oregon net income from self-employment or earned as an independent contractor as reported on the Oregon personal income tax return. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 657B.340 Statutes/Other Implemente…

471-070-2005 Self-Employed: Eligibility A self-employed individual, as defined in ORS 657B.010(23), may elect coverage under the Paid Leave Oregon program if the individual: (1) Earns at least $1,000 in taxable income from self-employment in the preceding calendar year; (2) Compl…

471-070-2010 Self-employed: Election Requirements and Effective Date (1) An eligible self-employed individual may apply to elect coverage under the Paid Leave Oregon program at any time. (2) A notice to elect must be in writing and submitted online or in another method approved b…

471-070-2030 Self-employed: Income, Contribution Payments, and Reporting Requirements (1) A self-employed individual who elects coverage under ORS 657B.130 must contribute to the Paid Leave Oregon Trust Fund in an amount that is equal to 60 percent of the total contribution rate …

471-070-2100 Tribal Government: Election Requirements and Effective Date (1) A tribal government may elect coverage at any time under the Paid Leave Oregon program in accordance with ORS 657B.130(4). The tribal government must elect coverage separately for each business owned by …

471-070-2170 Self-employed: Termination (1) A self-employed individual may terminate elective coverage by filing a written notice online or in another method approved by the department. (2) A self-employed individual can terminate elective coverage any time after the coverage has…

471-070-2180 Tribal Government: Termination of Elective Coverage (1) A tribal government may terminate elective coverage by filing a written notice with the department requesting a termination of the intergovernmental agreement. (2) A tribal government can terminate elective cove…

471-070-2200 Equivalent Plans: Definitions (1) “Administrative Costs” means the costs incurred by an employer directly related to administering an equivalent plan which include, but are not limited to, cost for accounting, recordkeeping, insurance policy premiums, legal expenses,…

471-070-2205 Equivalent Plans: Declaration of Intent to Obtain Approval of Equivalent Plan (1) Approved equivalent plans become effective on September 3, 2023, at the same time Paid Leave Oregon benefits may first be paid to eligible employees. However, the department is acceptin…

471-070-2210 Equivalent Plans: Application Requirements and Effective Date (1) An employer must submit a separate application and receive department approval for an employer administered equivalent plan or a fully insured equivalent plan for each Business Identification Number. T…

471-070-2220 Equivalent Plans: Plan Requirements In order for an equivalent plan to be approved by the department, the plan must at a minimum: (1) Cover all Oregon employees who have been continuously employed with the employer for at least 30 calendar days, regardless of hours w…