Oregon Military Family Leave Act of 2009
Employment Alert
Oregon Military Family Leave Act of 2009
Background
On June 25, 2009, Governor Kulongoski signed into law the Oregon Military Family Leave Act.
This Act was first introduced as House Bill 2744 during Oregon’s 2009 Legislative Session. The
bill passed both the House and the Senate and took effect immediately upon signature by the
Governor.
Purpose of the Act
The Oregon Military Family Leave Act expands the Oregon Family Leave Act (“OFLA”) to
require employers to provide up to fourteen (14) days of protected OFLA leave to employees
whose spouses are being deployed to active military duty. The OFLA applies to Oregon
employers with 25 or more employees.
Effect of the Act
Under the new law:
• During a period of military conflict, employers must provide an eligible employee who is
a military spouse with up to fourteen (14) days of unpaid leave per each deployment of
his or her spouse in the Armed Forces, National Guard, or military reserve forces when
the spouse: (1) Has been notified of an impending call to active duty; (2) Has been
ordered to active duty; or (3) Has actually been deployed.• Eligible employees are those employees who receive compensation from the employer
for their services for an average of at least 20 hours per week.• An employee must provide the employer with notice of his or her intention to take military
family leave within five (5) business days of receiving official notice of an impending call
or order to active duty or of a leave for deployment.• As with all OFLA leave, an employee who takes military family leave is entitled to a
continuation of benefits while on military family leave and to be restored to the position
the employee held prior to his or her military family leave.• An employee who takes military family leave may elect to use any accrued paid leave
available to the employee.• Military family leave taken under the Act counts as part of the total amount of leave an
employee is entitled to take under OFLA. That is, the amount of military family leave
taken by an employee is included in the employee’s overall protected OFLA leave
entitlement and is not additional protected leave.• It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to deny protected military family
leave to an eligible employee or to retaliate against an employee who requests or takes
such leave.
To Do
Since the law is now in effect, employers need to immediately comply with the requirements of
the Oregon Military Family Leave Act and should revise their OFLA policies and procedures to
ensure compliance with the new laws. Employers with questions about the Oregon Military
Family Leave Act should contact their legal counsel.
The text of the Oregon Military Family Leave Act can be found at:
//www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/hb2700.dir/hb2744.a.pdf
Labor and Employment Group
Specializing in providing Labor and Employment advice to public and private employers.
For further information, please contact a member of our Labor and Employment Group.
Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C.
www.harrang.com
Our firm’s Employment Alerts are intended to provide general information regarding recent
changes and developments in the labor and employment area. These publications do not
constitute legal advice, and the reader should consult legal counsel to determine how this
information may apply to any specific situation.
« Back to News & Insights