Maternity and Parental Leave Laws in Oregon

If you qualify, Paid Leave Oregon pays for maternity or paternity leave and may protect your job while you're off work, depending on how long you've worked for your employer.

And if you work in Oregon for a larger employer, the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) give you the right to take unpaid leave for pregnancy, childbirth, or parenting. The OFLA and FMLA cover both maternity leave and paternity leave.

If you're an expectant mother, you have other federal and state protections in Oregon. Two federal laws that require employers to accommodate pregnant employees can also protect your job while you take time off. But that's not the extent of your family leave rights in Oregon. Here's what you need to know about taking pregnancy disability leave, maternity leave, or paternity leave in Oregon, and getting paid for that time off.

Paid Maternity Leave Under Paid Leave Oregon

The state Paid Leave Oregon program pays you for time off when you can't work due to pregnancy and while you're taking care of your child after birth, adoption, or foster placement.

If you've worked at least 90 consecutive days for your employer, the Paid Leave Oregon law also provides job protection, which means your employer must give you your job back when you return from your maternity leave. Employees who haven't worked 90 consecutive days for their employer will have to look to other state and federal laws for job protection (more on this below).

Who's Eligible for Paid Maternity Leave in Oregon?

You're automatically covered by Paid Leave Oregon if both of the following are true:

• You work for an employer in Oregon (even a small employer).
• You earned at least $1,000 the year before you apply for benefits.

You can qualify for paid maternity leave in Oregon whether you work full-time, part-time, or for more than one employer. And if you're self-employed (including independent contractors), you can opt to participate in this paid family leave program. Tribal governments can also choose to offer it to their employees.

A few workers, however, are excluded from coverage under Paid Leave Oregon:

• federal employees
• participants in work training programs that are part of state or federal assistance programs
• participants in work-study programs for students (secondary or post-secondary), and
• railroad employees exempted under the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

How Long Does Paid Maternity Leave Last in Oregon?

You can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave during your benefit year, but you can't get paid leave benefits for partial days off. In some situations, if you're pregnant or have childbirth-related health needs, you can qualify for an extra 2 weeks of paid leave (up to 14 weeks total).

How Much Is Paid Maternity Leave in Oregon?

Oregon paid leave benefits are based on your earnings during the base year before your leave starts and the state's average weekly wage (SAWW), which is $1,363.80 in 2025. For Paid Leave Oregon claims with benefit years starting on or after July 6, 2025, the minimum weekly benefit amount is $68.19, and the maximum is $1,636.56 (120% of the SAWW). Anyone making more than $124,000 per year will receive the maximum payment.

Here's a chart with some examples of benefit amounts based on your gross earnings in your base year.

You can use Oregon's benefits calculator to find your exact benefits amount.

How to Apply for Paid Leave in Oregon

Oregon has a new online system for paid leave and unemployment benefits. It's called Frances Online. To file a paid leave claim, you'll have to create a Frances Online account and verify your identity. Go to https://frances.oregon.gov/ and click "Sign Up for an Online Account."

After you create an account and verify your identity, click the "File a Paid Leave Oregon Claim" and follow the prompts. You'll need your Social Security number, driver's license or state ID card, email address, and employment information. For pregnancy disability leave, you'll also need to have your health care provider submit a certification with the dates you're unable to work. For parenting leave, you'll need to submit documentation like a birth certificate or a verification of birth form.

Getting Job Protection When You Take Time Off During Pregnancy in Oregon

There are two types of laws that might protect you if you need pregnancy leave: laws that require employers to provide pregnancy leave with job reinstatement and laws that prohibit pregnancy discrimination and require employers to provide accommodations.

Pregnancy Leave Under the Oregon Family Leave Act

The Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) gives you the right to take up to 12 weeks off work in a one-year period when you're unable to work during pregnancy and for prenatal care. But the law doesn't apply to every employer or every worker.

The OFLA applies only to employers with at least 25 employees. And to be eligible for leave, you must have worked for your employer for at least 180 days, and have averaged at least 25 hours per week during the 180 days immediately before starting your leave.

The OFLA allows you to use your pregnancy leave to take short breaks if it's medically necessary. For example, if you have a prenatal check-up or morning sickness, you don't have to take a whole day off; you can use a few hours of leave and then go back to work.

Employees who have taken a full 12 weeks off for pregnancy disability leave are entitled to additional time for parental leave, as explained below.

Pregnancy Leave Under the FMLA

The federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is similar to the OFLA, but it applies to fewer employees and provides less time off for parents. The FMLA applies only to employers with at least 50 employees (compared to employers with 25 employees under the OFLA). And to be eligible for FMLA leave, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, and at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately preceding your leave.

Like the OFLA, the FMLA allows employees to take up to 12 weeks off per year. However, under the FMLA, employees only have a combined 12 weeks to take off for pregnancy disability leave and parenting leave, as explained below.

(Learn more about your right to leave for pregnancy and childbirth under the FMLA.)

Accommodations for Pregnancy in Oregon

If you don't qualify for job protection under the Paid Leave Oregon program, the OFLA, or the FMLA, then the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) may give you the right to take time off work (while your job stays protected), because it prohibits your employer from discriminating against you because of your pregnancy.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act doesn't specifically require employers to give pregnant employees time off work, but it does require employers to treat employees who are unable to work due to pregnancy just as they treat other employees who are temporarily disabled. (Not doing so is considered a form of sex discrimination.) For example, if your company lets employees take time off for illness or injuries, then it must allow pregnant employees to take the same time off when they are unable to work. Oregon has its own law prohibiting pregnancy discrimination, which works the same way.

The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) takes this one step further, requiring covered employers (those with 15 employees or more) to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who need them due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. Under this law, reasonable accommodations can include time off work.

Oregon Parental Leave

Both federal law and Oregon law give you the right to take parental leave—maternity or paternity leave—to bond with a new child. The laws provide leave after childbirth, adoption, or a foster placement.

Paid Maternity and Paternity Leave Under the Paid Leave Oregon Program

Under the state Paid Leave Oregon program, you can get paid time off for qualifying life events, including maternity or paternity leave. Paid Leave Oregon pays for time off when you can't work while you're taking care of your child after birth, adoption, or foster placement. You can take up to 12 weeks of paid parenting leave during your benefit year.

The same benefit amounts apply to medical/pregnancy leave (as discussed above) and family/parenting leave under the Paid Oregon Leave program, meaning the maximum benefit for maternity or paternity leave in 2025 is $1,636.56 per week. For more information on program rules and how benefits are calculated, visit the Oregon Paid Leave Employees FAQs.

But again, the Paid Leave Oregon law requires employers to reinstate you to your job only if you've worked at least 90 consecutive days for your employer. If you haven't, you'll have to rely on state or federal laws that provide job protection, as discussed below.

Maternity and Paternity Leave Under the FMLA

The FMLA gives you the right to use part of your annual 12 weeks of family leave to take time off to bond with a new child. But if you use, say, two weeks of FMLA leave during your pregnancy, you're only guaranteed another ten weeks to use for parental leave. And FMLA only applies to companies with at least 50 employees.

Oregon Parental Leave Law

The Oregon Family Leave Act also provides parental leave, but it applies to companies with only 25 employees. And it works differently from the federal FMLA. Under the OFLA, you're entitled to a full 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave, even if you've already used up to 12 weeks of leave for pregnancy disability and childbirth. In other words, you might be eligible for up to 24 weeks of leave for pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting.

And, after you've used up your leave allotment for pregnancy and parenting, you can still take up to 12 more weeks off work if your child is sick and requires home care (called sick child leave).

The eligibility requirements to use OFLA leave for parenting are less strict than the requirements for pregnancy leave. For parental leave in Oregon, you still must have worked for your employer for at least 180 days, but you don't need to have worked at least 25 hours a week in the 180 days before starting your leave.

This difference allows new mothers who've been off work for pregnancy disability and childbirth to immediately begin their parental leave.

Part-Time or Reduced Schedule Parental Leave

What if you want to use your maternity or paternity leave under the OFLA or FMLA a little at a time? For example, let's say you want to work part-time for a while, or by taking some of your leave when the baby is born, and some at a later point when your spouse or partner returns to work? Under the OFLA or FMLA, you can, but your employer needs to agree to it. But employers must allow you to use OFLA leave to give birth or attend the birth of your child, and you don't need to immediately use the rest of your parental leave at that time.

Paternity Leave When Both Parents Work for the Same Employer

If you're married to someone who works for the same company, your employer can limit your total amount of FMLA leave for parenting to 12 weeks for both of you. (Note that this rule doesn't apply to unmarried couples.) But whatever portion of your own 12 weeks of FMLA leave you don't use for parenting will still be available to you for other reasons—including your own serious health condition.

The OFLA is more generous. Under Oregon's law, parents who work for the same employer are each entitled to 12 weeks of parental leave. But your employer doesn't have to allow you and your co-parent to take parental leave at the same time.

Using Sick Time and Other Paid Time Off for Parental Leave

Even if you're not covered by Paid Leave Oregon, you might still be able to get paid for at least some of your parental leave. You can use your accrued paid leave (like sick days, vacation, ETO, or PTO) during your parental leave. Your employer might actually require you to use these paid time off benefits during unpaid FMLA or OFLA leave.

Oregon is one of the few states that requires employers to provide paid sick time to employees. If your employer has at least ten employees, your employer must give you one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you work, which you can use for pregnancy and childbirth as well as for parenting. (Smaller employers must also provide sick time, but it doesn't have to be paid.)

Your employer might also offer maternity and paternity leave benefits, parental benefits, or short-term disability insurance that covers pregnancy and childbirth. Talk to your HR representative or manager (and check your employee handbook) to find out what types of leave are available to you.