June 30, 2015
On June 10, 2015, Gov. Brown signed HB 2600 into law, creating Chapter 232 of the 2015 Laws. The law relates to the continuation of group health insurance for employees on family leave. As background, the federal FMLA entitles employees who work for certain employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons and requires employers to continue providing group health insurance coverage during FMLA leave on the same terms as if they had continued to work. However, the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) does not include the same requirement that the employee’s group health insurance coverage continue during the protected leave. The OFLA requirement applies to employers with 25 or more employees (versus the federal FMLA of 50 or more employees). This legislation aligns OFLA with FMLA’s continuation of group health insurance coverage provisions. Employers subject to OFLA, but too small to be subject to FMLA, should be aware of the requirement to continue an employee’s group health insurance during protected leave. The legislation is effective Jan. 1, 2016.
Chapter 232 »