07/15/2024 - Updates Have Been Announced to Oregon Labor Laws, Including Minimum Wage, Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), Paid Leave Oregon, Predictive Scheduling, and the Federal Overtime Exemption Salary Threshold.
As of July 1st, 2024, Oregon employers must begin compliance with the following updates for the following legislation:
- Minimum Wage
- Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA)
- Paid Leave Oregon
- Predictive Scheduling
- Federal Overtime Exemption Salary Threshold
Commissioner Stephenson previously announced new minimum wage rates for the remainder of 2024 and the first half of 2025. As of July 1st, 2024, those new rates have taken effect.
The standard Oregon minimum wage for the remainder of 2024 is $14.70 per hour (standard minimum wage rate) and will remain in effect until July of 2025. There are also special wage rates in Oregon for specific locations. These include:
- Portland Metro Minimum Wage: $15.95 per hour
- Non-Urban Minimum Wage: $13.70 per hour
For the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), as of July 1st, 2024, the following updates took effect to prevent redundancies between the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and Paid Family Leave.
Updates include a new list of OFLA leave qualifying events:
- To provide home care for a child with an illness, injury, or serious health condition, or because their school or care provider is closed due to a public health emergency (up to 12 weeks per year)
- Bereavement leave for the death of a family member (up to two weeks per family member, with a maximum of four weeks per year)
- Military family leave (up to 14 days per deployment)
- To care for an illness, injury, or condition related to their own pregnancy or childbirth that prevents them from performing any available job duties offered by the employer (up to 12 weeks per year, in addition to time off for any of the aforementioned reasons)
Employees can still use OFLA leave to assist with the placement or adoption of a child (for up to two weeks of additional leave) through the end of 2024. Starting January 1st, 2025, taking additional leave to assist with the placement or adoption of a child will be covered only by Paid Leave Oregon.
There has also been an update regarding previously designated OFLA leave, where employers will need to take certain steps to rescind approvals for OFLA leave requests that are no longer covered as of July 1st, 2024. Lastly, employers must now use a forward-looking year to determine the amount of OFLA leave an employee is entitled to take in a given one-year period.
“The most important thing that Oregon employers should be aware of going forward is that OFLA and Paid Leave Oregon will no longer run concurrently. Any leave taken under one law is now in addition to any leave taken under the other law.” Said the president of GNSA, Katharina Fink.
For Paid Leave Oregon, as of July 1st, 2024, several changes took place that now prevent employees from taking OFLA and Paid Leave Oregon at the same time.
Changes to Paid Leave Oregon include:
- Employees may use accrued benefits at the same time they receive paid leave benefits
- Employers can decide if employees can receive more than their full wage replacement when they use PTO and paid leave benefits at the same time
- When employees have more than one type of PTO available, employers may also choose the order that employees use PTO
"GNSA can help companies implement their updated policies to comply with the update in addition to helping take care of the payroll tax calculation, withholding, and remittance, ensuring accuracy and that payroll taxes are done correctly," said Fink.
For Oregon Predictive Scheduling, as of July 1st, 2024, a new exception for short-notice schedule changes due to Paid Leave Oregon, OFLA, and related leave types has been added.
When an employer has less than 14 days’ notice of a change due to an employee starting or returning from protected leave, the employer no longer owes predictive scheduling pay to the employee covering the shifts of the absent employee.
Finally, as for the Federal Overtime Exempt Salary Threshold, there have been scheduled updates put in place to take effect over the next six (6) months.
As of July 1st, 2024, the Overtime Exempt Salary Threshold increased to $844 per week. For highly compensated employees the threshold increased to $107,432 per year. The threshold will increase again to $1,128 per week, and $151,164 per year for highly compensated employees on January 1st, 2025.
"Employers that have employees who met an older salary threshold but will no longer meet the updated requirements going forward, will need to either increase their salaries and wages or start paying overtime." Said Fink, "Employers should also consider labor law poster subscriptions to get updated posters for these changes, as well as stay ahead of future updates."
Businesses looking for more information on Oregon Labor Laws and compliance can contact GNSA today to learn more about how they can help with compliance, employer policies, payroll, and more.
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About GNSA
Residing in the heart of the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years, GNSA has established a customer portfolio that extends beyond our Portland, OR headquarters to include every state in the continental U.S. With over 175 years of combined experience, we have found that what really sets GNSA apart from our competitors is our people! Our motto consists of the never-ending belief that the customer experience is what is most important. For us to ensure this to our clients, we must have a staff that consists of Caring, Responsive, Exceptionally Bright individuals and, most importantly, Happy Employees! Meet the Team.
