Employment eAlert: Governor Signs Bill to Add Bereavement Leave to the Oregon Family Leave Act

On June 13, 2013, Governor Kitzhaber signed House Bill 2950 to amend the Oregon Family Leave Act ("OFLA") to add leave to: "deal with the death of a family member." Beginning in January 2014, employees who are eligible for leave under OFLA may also be entitled to take up to two weeks of leave to deal with the death of a family member by:

• Attending the funeral or alternative to a funeral of the family member,
• Making arrangements necessitated by the death of the family member, or
• Grieving the death of the family member.

Leave must be completed within 60 days of the date the employee learns of the death of the family member, and the 2 weeks count toward the employee's 12 weeks of leave under OFLA. Advance notice of the need for bereavement leave is not required. However, as with other unexpected leaves under OFLA, employees must give oral notice within 24 hours of the start of the leave and written notice within 3 days after returning to work.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries is required to adopt rules governing bereavement leave. We will issue an update to this e-Alert once the new rules are issued. In the interim, if you have any questions related to this e-Alert or any other employment law issues, please feel free to contact us.

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This article was written by Elizabeth Semler, former Sussman Shank LLP Employment Law Partner.

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