Committee hears informational bills to refine Paid Leave Oregon administration and debt authority

The Senate Committee on Labor and Business held informational hearings on multiple bills and committee drafting related to Paid Leave Oregon and the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA).

Senate Bill 69 (committee omnibus, dash-1 amendment). Committee staff explained the dash-1 amendment is an omnibus, largely technical package developed after inter-branch and interim work. Josh Nasby of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) said sections 1–2 transfer rulemaking authority over job-protection, discrimination and retaliation rules from the Employment Department to BOLI so that the enforcement agency adopts rules related to enforcement. Section 3 pauses the running of statutes of limitation while an administrative appeal is pending; section 4 clarifies sick-child leave is limited to minors or persons who meet the definition of a person with a disability; section 5 narrows a 30-day notice requirement to situations in which 30 days’ notice is actually possible during declared public-health emergencies.

Karen Hummelbaugh (transcript spelling inconsistent) of the Oregon Employment Department, director of Paid Leave Oregon, described sections affecting the Employment Department. Section 6 expands confidentiality exceptions so the department may share benefit amounts with employers for purposes of calculating any additional employer-provided sick or vacation leave. Section 7 permits employers to require a provider’s certification that an employee is fit to return to work and allows employers to request periodic updates on leave status. Sections 8–9 clarify statutory sick leave usage; section 10 aligns airline crew eligibility for OFLA with federal regulations governing flight-crew work hours.

Senate Bill 858 (Employment Department concept). Karen Hummelbaugh described changes to align Paid Leave Oregon administration with existing Unemployment Insurance practices. Key topics include clarifying treatment when claimants receive different types of unemployment insurance benefits, permitting lay representation in appeals to match UI practice, and clarifying contributions for equivalent plans. The agency asked that one introduced section about trust fund triggers be removed from the bill because the Paid Leave Oregon trust fund was described as currently solvent (roughly a six-month reserve) and existing statute provides options if the trust’s health declines.

Senate Bill 859 (employer debt compromise authority). Nathan Stevens, contributions and recovery director at the Employment Department, asked for authority to allow the director to compromise, adjust or write off employer debts and overpayments for Paid Leave Oregon consistent with how employer debt for unemployment insurance is managed. He said the authority would apply retroactively to contributions and equivalent-plan debts since Jan. 1, 2023, and to grant repayments and benefits overpayments back to Sept. 3, 2023. Stevens and committee members discussed examples where penalties or interest might be waived on a case-by-case basis for employers with a strong compliance history or one-time mistakes and noted the practice has been used for unemployment insurance. Committee members asked whether the agency could use the authority to grant industry-wide waivers; the agency said that practice has not been done and would be unlikely but agreed to clarify statutory language.

Committee members asked follow-up questions about implementation details and requested a subsequent public hearing on the SB 69 dash-1 amendment and additional informational appearances by DAS and other involved agencies for specific technical topics. No committee votes were taken at the Jan. 21 hearings.