Unionized Oregon Employers Have Until March 31, 2023, to Collect Employee Contributions to Paid Leave Oregon

Oregon employers with collective bargaining agreements (CBA) have until March 31, 2023, to begin deducting employee contributions to Paid Leave Oregon, the Paid Leave Oregon Advisory Committee clarified on March 1, 2023.

As the first quarter of 2023 winds down, covered employers with collective bargaining agreements (CBA) may want to keep in mind that Paid Leave Oregon does not exempt from its contribution requirements employers and employees that are parties to a CBA, unless the CBA provides benefits at least equal to the benefits provided under the state program. Employers’ obligations under Paid Leave Oregon, the state’s paid family and medical leave program, began on January 1, 2023.

Employers with CBAs that have not deducted employee contributions since January 1, 2023, will be responsible for covering both employer and employee contributions, but they can avoid that result if they deduct the employee contribution amount from employees’ paychecks due for the current quarter (January 1 through March 31, 2023) by March 31, 2023.

Employers that do not intend to administer their own equivalent (or better) plans will pay the contributions withheld from employees’ paychecks on the quarterly payroll tax report that is due to the Oregon Employment Department on May 1, 2023. Large employers—i.e., those with twenty-five or more employees—must also pay their portion of the contributions by May 1, 2023.