Sick time law — employer coverage and paid vs. unpaid requirements
Oregon requires all employers with at least one employee working in the state to provide sick time under ORS 653.601–653.661. Whether that time must be paid depends on employer size, determined by averaging the per-day employee count over at least 20 workweeks in the preceding year. Employers with 10 or more employees statewide must provide paid sick time. Employers with a location in a city exceeding 500,000 population (Portland) and 6 or more employees statewide must provide paid sick time. Smaller employers must provide the same amount of sick time, but it may be unpaid. The federal government is excluded.
Source: ORS 653.606
Sick time accrual rate and caps
Employees accrue at least one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked (or 1⅓ hours for every 40 hours worked). Employers may cap accrual at 40 hours per year and may limit total accrued sick time to 80 hours. Employers may also limit use to 40 hours per year. Exempt employees under FLSA 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1) are presumed to work 40 hours per week for accrual purposes unless their actual workweek is shorter.
Source: ORS 653.606
Sick time permitted uses — employee illness, family care, safe leave, public health emergency, and blood donation
Oregon law specifies eight categories of permitted uses for accrued sick time under ORS 653.616. Employers must allow employees to use sick time for any of these reasons and may not impose additional restrictions on the statutory purposes.
1. Employee's own health needs. An employee may use sick time for the employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or preventive medical care.
2. Family member care. An employee may use sick time for care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or care of a family member who needs preventive medical care. "Family member" is defined by reference to ORS 659A.150, which includes not only the employee's spouse, domestic partner, children, parents, and grandparents but also any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
3. Oregon Family Leave Act purposes. ORS 653.616(3) allows sick time use "for any other purpose specified in ORS 659A.159," notwithstanding the usual eligibility threshold in ORS 659A.153. This cross-reference incorporates the OFLA leave purposes, which include caring for a child who requires home care due to closure of school or child care provider; dealing with the death of a family member by attending the funeral or memorial service, making arrangements necessitated by the death, or grieving; caring for a sick child who requires home care; and bonding with a newborn, newly adopted, or newly placed foster child during the first year.
4. Safe leave for victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, bias, or stalking. Sick time may be used for purposes specified in ORS 659A.272, notwithstanding the coverage threshold in ORS 659A.270(1). Those purposes include: seeking legal or law enforcement assistance or remedies, including preparing for and participating in protective order proceedings or other civil or criminal legal proceedings; seeking medical treatment for or recovering from injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, or a bias crime; obtaining counseling from a licensed mental health professional for the employee or the employee's minor child or dependent; obtaining services from a victim services provider; and relocating or taking steps to secure an existing home to ensure health and safety.
5. Exclusion from workplace under health-related law or rule. An employee may use sick time when any law or rule requires the employer to exclude the employee from the workplace for health reasons (e.g., communicable disease exposure or infection control protocols).
6. Donation to another employee. If the employer has a policy that allows employees to donate sick time to a coworker, an employee may donate accrued sick time to another employee, provided the recipient uses the donated time for a purpose specified in ORS 653.616.
7. Public health emergency. Sick time may be used in the event of a public health emergency.
8. Blood donation. An employee may use sick time for blood donation made in connection with a voluntary program approved or accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks or the American Red Cross.
The statute's "notwithstanding" clauses in subsections (3) and (4) mean that the OFLA and safe-leave purposes are available through sick time even when the employee would not meet the usual eligibility requirements (such as employer size or length of service) under the OFLA or safe-leave statutes themselves. In other words, the sick time law provides a floor of leave access for these purposes regardless of the employee's eligibility for the broader leave protections.
Source: ORS 653.616