Paid Leave Oregon provides up to 12 weeks of weekly cash benefits to those who qualify, while the Oregon Family Leave Act adds the right to take unpaid, job-protected leave.
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Having or adopting a baby in Oregon raises two big questions: Can you afford to take time off, and will your job be there when you get back? Fortunately, several state and federal laws can help with both. Paid Leave Oregon is a state program that pays eligible workers weekly cash benefits during pregnancy, childbirth, and time spent bonding with a new child. Separately, the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) give employees of larger employers the right to take some types of unpaid, job-protected leave. All of these protections cover maternity and paternity leave alike.
Read on to see who qualifies for paid benefits, how much time off you can take, and which laws keep your job safe while you're on leave.
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. (Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 657B.010 and following.)
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 during your "base year," which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your leave starts. (If you fall short, Paid Leave will look at your last four completed quarters instead.)
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. That 12 weeks is a single bank for medical leave to recover from childbirth and family leave to bond with your baby. 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).
You can’t get paid leave benefits for partial days off.
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 $1,410.13 in 2026. For Paid Leave Oregon claims with benefit years starting on or after June 28, 2026, the minimum weekly benefit amount is $70.51, and the maximum is $1,692.16 (120% of the SAWW). Anyone making more than about $128,300 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.
| Monthly Earnings in Base Year | Annual Earnings in Base Year | Weekly Benefit Amount |
| $1,000 | $12,000 | $230.77 |
| $4,000 | $48,000 | $919.83 |
| $6,000 | $72,000 | $1,150.60 |
| $9,000 | $108,000 | $1,496.75 |
| $11,000 | $132,000 | $1,692.16 |
You can use Oregon's benefits calculator to find your exact benefits amount.
How to Apply for Paid Leave in Oregon
Oregon has an online system for paid leave and unemployment benefits 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 find the Employees and Claimants panel; then select the link to log on to Frances Online.
After you create an account and verify your identity, click on "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.
If you can plan your leave ahead of time, tell your employer at least 30 days before you start. If you take leave at an unexpected time, tell your employer within 24 hours of starting your leave and follow up with a written notice within three days. If you skip the written notice, Paid Leave Oregon can cut your first weekly benefit payment by 25%.
Getting Job Protection When You Take Maternity Leave in Oregon
Paid Leave Oregon provides job protection, but if you don't qualify, there are two other types of laws that might protect you when you take maternity leave: laws that require employers to provide pregnancy leave with job reinstatement and laws that prohibit pregnancy discrimination and require employers to provide accommodations.
Job Protection With Paid Leave Oregon
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. If your position doesn’t exist when you return from leave and your employer has 25 or more employees, the company must give you a similar position or offer you an equivalent position at a job site within 50 miles of your former job. If your employer has fewer than 25 employees, it can give you a different position with similar job duties and the same benefits and pay.
If you think your employer has violated these protections, you can file a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), which took over enforcement of Paid Leave Oregon job protection and retaliation rules in January 2026. (Or. Rev. Stat. § 657B.060.)
Employees who haven't worked 90 consecutive days for their employer will have to look to other state and federal laws for job protection.
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 also allows you to use your pregnancy leave to take short breaks if it's medically necessary. For example, if you have a prenatal checkup 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.
Pregnancy Leave Under the FMLA
The federal 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. (29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 and following.)
Like the OFLA, the FMLA allows employees to take up to 12 weeks off per year. Under the FMLA, employees only have a combined 12 weeks to take off for pregnancy disability leave and parenting leave, as explained below under the parental leave section.
(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
Paid Leave Oregon and the FMLA both cover maternity and paternity leave, but the OFLA does not. As of July 1, 2024, it no longer covers parental leave at all, though it still gives birth parents up to 12 weeks of pregnancy disability leave.
Fortunately, Paid Leave Oregon and the FMLA do provide the right to take parental leave—maternity or paternity leave—to bond with a new child for many employees. 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 Leave Oregon program, meaning the maximum benefit for maternity or paternity leave in 2026 is $1,692.16 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 (within the same guidelines discussed above). If you haven't worked 90 days, you'll have to rely on state or federal laws that provide job protection, as discussed below.
Bonding 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, 2 weeks of FMLA leave during your pregnancy, you're only guaranteed another 10 weeks to use for parental leave. And FMLA only applies to companies with at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of the worksite.
(Learn more about your right to parenting leave under the FMLA.)
Part-Time or Reduced Schedule Parental Leave
What if you want to use your parenting leave a little at a time? Say you'd like to work part-time for a while, or take some leave when the baby is born and save the rest for when your spouse or partner goes back to work.
Under the FMLA, you can split up bonding leave only if your employer agrees. Paid Leave Oregon is more flexible: you can take your benefits consecutively or intermittently, in whole-day increments, without your employer's approval. If you choose intermittent leave, you'll need to file a weekly claim for each week you take leave.
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.
Paid Leave Oregon is more generous. Benefits belong to each worker individually, so you and your co-parent can each claim up to 12 weeks of paid bonding leave even if you work for the same employer.
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, earned time off (ETO), or paid time off (PTO)) during your parental leave. Your employer might actually require you to use these paid time off benefits during unpaid FMLA leave.
Oregon is one of the few states that requires employers to provide paid sick time to employees. If your employer has at least 10 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.
Sick Child Leave and Parental Leave Under the OFLA
Until July 1, 2024, the OFLA provided its own 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave on top of pregnancy disability leave. In 2024, the Oregon Legislature took parental leave out of OFLA to keep employees from stacking two state leave programs. If you've read that the OFLA gives you up to 24 weeks off for pregnancy and parenting, that's no longer the law.
For bonding time, apply for Paid Leave Oregon benefits. That's now the only Oregon law that protects your job while you bond with a new child—and unlike the OFLA, it applies no matter how small your employer is.
If your new child becomes ill, however, the OFLA does provide up to 12 weeks of sick child leave, but the child must have an illness, injury, or condition that requires home care. Pregnancy disability leave is a separate 12 weeks. So a birth parent who uses all 12 weeks of pregnancy disability leave still has 12 weeks available later if the baby gets sick and needs home care. (Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 659A.159 and 659A.162.)
