Who's covered by Paid Family and Medical Leave?
All actively working and contributing full- and part-time employees who work for an Oregon employer. At UO, this includes faculty, officers of administration, classified, graduate, temporary and student employees. The program does not cover employees who work remotely in other states.

What does Paid Family and Medical Leave provide?
PFML provides a weekly wage replacement for up to 12 weeks of medical, family, or safe leave in a 52-week period starting from the day your leave begins. An additional 2 weeks, for a total of 14 weeks, of family leave is available for limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, including but not limited to lactation.

What types of leave will be covered under Paid Family and Medical Leave?
PFML provides paid time off for:

Family Leave
Caring for members of your family:

• During the birth of a child
• Bonding with a child in the first year:
• After birth
• Through adoption
• Placement for foster care
• With serious health condition

Medical Leave
To care for yourself when you have:

• A serious health condition

Safe Leave
For survivors of:

• Sexual assault
• Domestic violence
• Harassment
• Stalking

Who is considered a family member under Paid Family and Medical Leave? 
A family member is defined by state law and can be any of the following:

• Your spouse or domestic partner
• Your child (biological, adopted, stepchild, or foster child), your spouse or domestic partner’s child, or the child’s spouse or domestic partner
• Your parent (biological, adoptive, stepparent, foster parent, or legal guardian), the parent of your spouse or domestic partner, or your parent’s spouse or domestic partner
• Your sibling or stepsibling or their spouse or domestic partner
• Your grandparent or your grandparent’s spouse or domestic partner
• Your grandchild or your grandchild’s spouse or domestic partner
• Anyone you are related to by blood or affinity, whose close association with a covered individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.

What is The Standard's role in administering Paid Family and Medical Leave?
The Standard will provide eligibility determination, claims processing and benefit payment to employees.

What information will I need to provide The Standard at the time I file my claim?
The Standard will walk you through the process during your call; however, you will want to refer to policy #762384-Z. You will also need to provide your name, employer, type of leave requesting, dates of your leave and healthcare provider name and contact information. 

Do I need to notify my supervisor or Human Resources if I plan to take leave under Paid Family and Medical Leave?
If your leave is foreseeable, you are required to file your claim with The Standard and notify your supervisor, in writing, 30 days in advance. If you do not give the required notice, your first weekly benefit may be reduced. In an emergency, you must notify your supervisor (this does not have to be in writing) that you plan to use Paid Leave within 24 hours. Follow up with a written notice to your supervisor within 3 days after starting leave.

When can I apply for benefits through Paid Family and Medical Leave?
Employees can apply for benefits for leaves effective on or after September 3, 2023.

How will benefits be paid?
Once you have filed a claim with The Standard, and the claim has been approved, benefits will be paid on a weekly basis directly from The Standard.  Please note that the average turnaround time for claim filing to claim decision is 17 business days. After The Standard has received all required documentation the average claim decision turn around time is 2-3 business days. PFML benefit payments are issued by physical check from The Standard and mailed to the address provided by the employee. Please allow for 7-10 days for the check to arrive. 

PFML benefits are determined by The Standard and are based on a state-created formula using your average weekly wage from the 52-weeks preceding your leave and the average weekly wage of all employees in the state of Oregon. The maximum weekly PFML benefit for the 2024 - 2025 year is $1,568.60. 

How is Paid Family and Medical Leave funded?
PFML is funded by payroll taxes. Employees contribute .6% of gross monthly wages per month via payroll deduction. Employers contribute .4% of gross monthly wages per month. Example: If an employee’s monthly gross wage is $2,000; the UO would pay $8.00 per month, and the employee would pay $12.00 per month.

Can I opt out of contributing?
No. Per Oregon state law, eligible employees may not opt out of contributions.

Are contributions taxable?
Contributions will be included in wages subject to Oregon tax and will be included on your W2. The IRS has not issued guidance regarding federal tax liability.

Are benefits received taxable? 
Yes. Benefits received are considered taxable income. The IRS has not issued guidance regarding federal tax liability.

How does Paid Family and Medical Leave interact with short-term disability?
PFML benefits are considered deductible income under the terms of our short-term disability (STD) policy. STD benefits are reduced by any benefits employees are eligible to receive from PFML because of their own health condition. STD benefit amount will be the difference between the amount employees are eligible to receive from PFML and the maximum benefits amount of the STD claim.

• *IMPORTANT* Even if an employee does not apply for PFML for their own serious health condition, their STD benefits will be reduced.
• The minimum amount of weekly STD benefits an employee may receive is $25.
• STD benefits apply only to an employee's own health condition; therefore, there is no interaction between STD and PFML for situations other than one's own health condition.

Does Paid Family and Medical Leave cover employees who work remotely outside of Oregon?
The program does not cover employees who work remotely in other states.

Is Paid Family and Medical Leave available for a non-birthing parent?
Yes. A non-birthing parent may receive 12 weeks of paid family leave under Paid Family and Medical Leave. The leave must be used within one year of the birth.

Can I take 12 weeks of leave under FMLA or OFLA and then take my 12 weeks under Paid Family and Medical Leave? 
No. If you are eligible for FMLA at the time you apply for Paid Family and Medical Leave, the leaves will run concurrently. Paid Family Medical Leave and OFLA do not run concurrently. 

Will I receive health insurance while receiving Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits?
Health insurance will continue while on an approved Paid Family and Medical Leave claim. Employees will be responsible for paying their monthly premium share while on leave. Failure to pay the monthly premium may result in termination of coverage. 

Is my job protected while out on Paid Family and Medical Leave?
If you've worked for the UO for at least 90 days, your job will be protected.

Can I take Paid Family and Medical Leave intermittently? 
Yes. Benefits may be taken in increments equal to one work day or one work week.

Am I required to apply for Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits if I need to take leave? 
Employees are not required to apply for benefits. However, employees pay into the program and are encouraged to apply.

What notifications do supervisors receive?
Supervisors receive notifications of pending claims, approved/denied/cancelled decisions, and date modifications to claims

What notifications do Payroll/HR Administrators receive?
Payroll/HR Administrators receive notifications of pending claims, approved/denied/cancelled decisions, date modifications to claims, and accrued leave top-off information.

Who is eligible to “top off” their PFML?
Employees not receiving 100% of their wages while on PFML may use accrued leave (if eligible and available) to bring them to 100% of their normal wage, or "top off."

How do employees maintain their benefits? 
Employees who wish to maintain their health insurance benefits must continue to pay their employee share of the monthly benefit premiums. If an employee does not use or is ineligible to top off their PFML benefits with accrued leave, they will be sent a self-pay notice from the Benefits Office.

How should top off be recorded on timesheets? 
Employees and payroll/HR administrators are notified of the number of hours the employee must enter into their timesheet. They should only enter the amount of accrued leave hours designated for their leave claim.
EXAMPLE: if an employee’s top-off amount is 2.66 hours, the employee should record 2.66 of accrued leave every day they are using PFML.

• If this employee is on continuous leave, 2.66 hours must be entered for each workday absence for the duration of their PFML claim.  
• If this employee is on an intermittent PFML claim, they must enter 2.66 accrued leave hours for each workday absence they report to The Standard to use PFML.  

How does PFML interact with holiday pay?
The Standard pays PFML benefits on holidays.

• Only the specified top-off amount should be recorded on the holiday.
• Employees are not permitted to receive full holiday pay while on PFML.  
• If an employee does not use or is ineligible to top-off their PFML benefits with accrued leave, they are in paid status and thus not eligible to receive holiday pay.