Human Resources
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The Family and Medical Leave Act entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons and allows for continuation of health benefits during the protected leave.
Eligibility: All full and part-time employees employed for 12 months (need not be consecutive) and who have worked a minimum of 1250 hours in the 12 months preceding the leave.
Qualifying Purposes for FMLA:
- Birth of a child, and to care for a newborn child.
- Placement with employee of a child for adoption or foster care.
- Care for the employee’s spouse/registered same-gender domestic partner, child or parent with a serious health condition.
- Employee’s own serious health condition.
- Qualifying Military Exigency Leave arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, parent or child is on active military duty in the National Guard or Reserve in “contingency” military operation.
- Service Member Care Leave (SMCL) for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the employee is the spouse, parent or child, or the next of kin of the service member.
Length of FMLA Leave Entitlement:
The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligibleThe Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees with 12 weeks of qualifying leave within a 12-month period. Effective September 1, 2023, Southern Oregon University will change its method for calculating an employee’s available FMLA leave from a 12-month“rolling backward” to a 12-month “rolling forward” measurement period. Using the “rolling-backward” measurement period , the current processis to “count or look backwards” for 12 months prior to the leave effective date and add the total amount of FMLA used (if any) during that look-back period. If leave was used, that time is then subtracted from the employee’s12-week maximum entitlement. The remaining balance is the amount of FMLA protected leave currently available for the employee’s use. Using the “rolling-forward” measurement period , SOU’s method for calculating the 12-weeks of available leave will “count or look forward” fort he 12-month period measured forward from the date the employee’s leave begins. This change is effective September 1, 2023 and is designed to most closely align the FMLA measurement period, with the mandated changes to the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) measurement period and with Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) measurement period. Both of which use a 12-month rolling forward method defined as, “A period of 52 consecutive weeks beginning on the Sunday immediately preceding the date on which family leave commences.”
Change in the FMLA Leave Calculation Method and Measurement Period.
Covered Family Members:
- Child: A biological, adopted, foster or step-child, legal ward, or child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, normally under the age of 18, unless the child is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Parent: Employee’s parent or parent in loco parentis, but not a parent-in-law.
- Spouse or legally recognized domestic partner.
- Next of Kin (SMCL only): Service member’s nearest blood relative who has been granted legal custody of the service member by court decree; or brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins.
When is notice required: Employees are required to provide notice to the employer 30 days in advance of the leave unless it is impracticable to do so, or if the leave is taken for an emergency.
Health Care Provider:
- Doctors of medicine or osteopathy, podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists, chiropractors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse-midwives, who are licensed to practice under state law and must be performing within the scope of their practice.
- Christian Science Practitioners who are listed with First Church of Christ in Boston, MA.
- Chiropractors only if treatment consists of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation as demonstrated by x-ray.
Medical Certification: The employer’s determination of FMLA eligibility may require medical certification that the leave is needed due to an FMLA qualifying condition of the employee or that of a spouse, parent or child, or next of kin (SMCL).
FMLA Leave Taken on an Intermittent or Reduced Work Schedule Basis: For intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave, there must be a medical requirement for the leave and such medical need must best be accommodated through an intermittent or reduced work schedule. Employees needing intermittent FMLA or reduced schedule must try to schedule the leave to avoid disrupting the campus’ operations. Leave for the birth or placement of a child may not be taken on an intermittent or reduced work schedule. With a reduced work schedule, only the amount of leave actually taken may be counted against the maximum leave entitlement on a pro-rated basis.
Intermittent or Reduced Work Schedule for Exempt Employees: There is a special exception to FLSA rules for FMLA as it applies to exempt employees. An exempt employee may use intermittent or reduced work schedule leave and use accrued leave during FMLA leave when the campus is required by law to grant the FMLA leave.
Employee Reporting Requirements: The campus may request an employee to report periodically on his/her status and intention to return to work.
Continuation of Benefits during FMLA: While on paid FMLA (via use of sick or vacation time) benefit premiums, including medical, dental, vision, and group life continue to be paid by SOU without a lapse in coverage. During periods of unpaid FMLA (Exhausted sick or vacation time, or separate payment from The Standard for Paid Leave Oregon) only medical, dental, vision and group life premiums will continue to be paid by SOU. The employee will need to submit payment for the continuation of elected non-core benefits.
Rights to Reemployment: An employee on FMLA leave is entitled to return to the same position or another position with equivalent benefits, pay, and conditions of employment. The employee on leave has no different rights than if s/he were actively at work; therefore, the campus may be able to deny reinstatement if the job were eliminated due to layoff.
Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA)
* Alert * Changes are coming to OFLA as of July 1, 2024 under Senate Bill 1515. As of this date the following changes will apply:
- OFLA will no longer cover parental leave or serious health condition leave. Leave for these purposes will only be available under Paid Leave Oregon.
- Sick child leave under OFLA is expanded. An employee may take leave under OFLA to care for a child suffering from any illness, injury, or condition that requires home care (even if it may qualify as a serious health condition). An employee may still also use OFLA sick child leave to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed in conjunction with a statewide public health emergency declared by a public health official.
- Bereavement leave under OFLA is capped at four weeks per year. An employee’s entitlement to bereavement leave under OFLA will be capped at four weeks per leave year.
- OFLA still allows for an additional 12 weeks of pregnancy disability leave. In addition to any other OFLA leave used for sick child leave and bereavement leave, an employee may still take up to 12 additional weeks of OFLA leave for their own pregnancy disability in the same leave year.
- OFLA is temporarily amended to cover two additional weeks of leave for the fostering or adoption process. In addition to the OFLA leave above, between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, an employee may take an additional two weeks of OFLA leave to effectuate the legal process for the placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child.
- OFLA leave will be in addition to leave under Paid Leave Oregon. That is, OFLA leave may not be taken concurrently with any leave under Paid Leave Oregon.
- Use of PTO during a period of leave under Paid Leave Oregon is changing (again). An employee will now be permitted to decide whether to use any accrued paid time off in addition to their Paid Leave Oregon benefits, as long as the total amount received by the employee does not exceed their regular pay. However, an employer may still permit an employee to use their paid time off such that the total combined amounts exceed their regular pay.
- Family leave under Paid Leave Oregon will include leave for the fostering and adoption process. Beginning January 1, 2025, Paid Leave Oregon will include leave to effectuate the legal process required for the placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child.
- Predictive scheduling relief. Employers will be exempt from the predictive scheduling compensation penalties if (1) an employee provides less than 14 days’ notice of the need for or return from leave under Paid Leave Oregon, OFLA, or any other leave under ORS Ch. 659A, and (2) the employer makes a change to the schedule of an employee who was temporarily assigned to specific shifts to cover for an employee on leave.
Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA)
Eligibility: All employees who have worked an average of 25 or more hours per week and have been employed for 180 days immediately preceding the leave are eligible for OFLA. (The 25-hour average requirement does not apply for parental leave) For purposes of OMFLA workers are eligible if they have worked at least an average of 20 hours per week, without regard to the duration of employment.
Qualifying Purposes for OFLA: (Note changes effective July 1, 2024 above)
- Parental leave to care for your newborn, newly adopted child or newly placed foster child.
- Care for the employee’s eligible family member (See below for definitions)
- Employee’s own serious health condition.
- Sick child leave, to care for a child who has a non-serious health condition and requires home care.
- Bereavement leave: Up to two weeks per eligible family member, in a one-year time period taken within 60 days of notification of the death to attend the funeral or make arrangements necessitated by the death or to grieve.
- A spouse or same-gender domestic partner of a service member is entitled to a total of 14 days of leave per deployment after the military spouse has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty and before deployment and when the military spouse is on leave from deployment. (OMFLA)
Length of OFLA Leave Entitlement: The maximum leave is 12 weeks in a 12-month period. The 12-month period is calculated on a ‘rolling’ 12-month period measured forward from the date the employees’s leave begins. Federal and State leave entitlements run concurrently.
Extensions to the 12-week Entitlement:
- A female employee may take up to 12 weeks of additional leave within any one-year rolling period for an illness, injury or condition related to pregnancy or childbirth that disables the employee from performing any available job duties. (While disabled due to pregnancy or childbirth)
- An employee who takes 12 weeks of “parental leave” may take an additional 12 weeks to care for a child of the employee who is suffering from an illness, injury or condition that is not a serious health condition but that requires home care.
Eligible Family Member Definition: spouse, same-gender domestic partner, custodial parent, non-custodial parent, adoptive parent, foster parent, biological parent, parent-in-law, parent of same-gender domestic partner, sibling, step-sibling, grandparent or grandchild of the employee, or a person with whom the employee is or was in a relationship of in loco parentis. It also includes the biological, adopted, foster or stepchild of an employee or the child of an employee’s same-gender domestic partner, and any individual related by blood or affinity whose close associate with a covered individual is the equivalent of a family member
Paid Leave Oregon
Effective September 3, 2023 employees in the state of Oregon may be eligible for the new Paid Leave Oregon program which provides the following:
- Family leave to care for an eligible family member with a serious illness or injury, or to bond with a new child after birth, adoption or foster care placement
- Medical leave for the employees own serious health condition
- Safe leave for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking
What you should know:
- Payroll taxes begin with the September payroll for SOU employees. The paid leave program is funded by a trust fund. Both workers and employers contribute to the fund through payroll taxes. Large employers (such as SOU) contribute 40% and employees contribute 60% of the total contribution. The total contribution is set at 1% of wages. (As an example; an employee earning $1,000, the total contribution would be $10.00. Of that, 40% ($4.00) would be paid by the employer and 60% ($6.00) would be paid by the employee
- Who’s covered – An employee who earned at least $1,000 in the year may be eligible
- You can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year (up to 14 weeks for pregnancy-related medical leave). Paid leave will run concurrently with FMLA/OFLA leave where applicable.
- If you’ve worked for SOU for more than 90 days, your job is protected.
- The benefit amount you receive from Standard Insurance will depend on your wages and income and based on the requirements set forth by they State of Oregon. (Claims are filed directly with the Standard and payments come directly from them, not from SOU)
- Employees are required to notify their employer (through Human Resources) at least 30 days before taking the leave, or if the leave is unexpected, within 24 hours. (Additional documentation may be required)
- Employees will file claims for benefits directly with the Standard using the claim forms below.
Eligible Family Member Definition: spouse, same-gender domestic partner, custodial parent, non-custodial parent, adoptive parent, foster parent, biological parent, parent-in-law, parent of same-gender domestic partner, sibling, step-sibling, grandparent or grandchild of the employee, or a person with whom the employee is or was in a relationship of in loco parentis. It also includes the biological, adopted, foster or stepchild of an employee or the child of an employee’s same-gender domestic partner, and any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with a covered individual is the equivalent of a family member
PAID LEAVE OREGON CLAIM PROCESS AND BENEFIT INFORMATION:
Steps to Filing a Claim for Paid Leave Oregon
- Contact The Standard at 1-800-242-1888 to file your claim.
- Contact Human Resources at hrs@sou.edu or 541 552-8553 to notify of the need for leave.
- Submit any documentation requested by The Standard in a timely manner
While receiving payment through The Standard, if you do not receive a paycheck from SOU, it may be necessary for you to self-pay the employee portion of your benefits, that would normally come out of your paycheck. Please contact Human Resources at hrs@sou.edu or 541 552-8553 for additional information.
You may utilize accrued sick/vacation leave in coordination with Paid Leave. To utilize accruals, please access “Absense” in Workday and record the use of “time off”, then select sick or vacation and enter the date(s) you want to use accrued leave and then enter the quantity (hours) to use for each day. This action is in addition to requesting the appropriate leave (FMLA/OFLA/PFML) in Workday.
PFML Weekly Benefit Calculator
The Standard – Frequently Asked Questions
Benefits at a Glance 2023 (Spanish)
The preferred method of filing your paid leave claim is via the telephone number listed above, however claim forms are provided below should you wish to file your claim via mail.
Claim form – Employees Own Serious Health Condition
Claim form – Serious Health Condition of Eligible Family Member
For Additional information please visit the Oregon Paid Leave Program website or you may also view the material provided below:
Standard Oregon Paid Family Leave – Notice
Paid leave Oregon – Brochure
Equated Load Unit (ELU) to Sick Leave Hours Estimator
When faculty need to supplement their sick leave hours to remain in paid status, they must consider the equated load units (ELU) to be absent along with their actual sick leave balance.
For illustrative and estimation purposes only, there is an average of 173.33 hours worked per month (2080 hours worked in a year/12 months) and most faculty are considered to be full-time when they carry 15 ELU.
Should a faculty member need to take protected leave to cover 4 ELU, they would estimate their sick leave usage in the following manner:
- WEEK: 40 hours per week / 15 ELU for full load for term x 4 ELU = 10.7 sick leave hours per week
- MONTH: 173.33 hours per month / 15 ELU for full load for term x 4 ELU = 46 sick leave hours per month
- TERM: 520 hours per term / 15 ELU for full load for term x 4 ELU = 138.7 sick leave hours per term
For assistance with ELU to sick leave conversions, please contact the Office of the Provost. To access your sick leave balance, please navigate to the Employee Self-Service portal.
Contact HR
Churchill Hall 159
1250 Siskiyou Boulevard
Ashland, OR 97520
Email: hrs@sou.edu
Phone:(541) 552-8553
Fax: (541) 552-8505
Hours: M-F, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Request and Appointment