Oregon’s Sick Time Law went into effective January 1, 2016. In July 2015, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 454 requiring certain employers to implement and provide paid sick leave to workers. In December 2015, the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) issued the rules governing how employers are to implement the law (OAR 839-007-0000). The requirements of Oregon’s sick time law can be found by clicking here.
Southern Oregon University is an employer that is covered by this law. In the event current SOU policies or collective bargaining agreements are more generous than the law, SOU will continue to adhere to its current policies and collective bargaining agreements. Unclassified, classified, and faculty employees in appointments of .50 full-time equivalency (FTE) or greater receive sick leave benefits that are more generous than required by the law and therefore, will experience no change in sick leave benefits.
Effective January 1, 2016, employees earn one (1) hour of sick time for every thirty (30) hours worked. Employees may use accrued sick time on the 91st calendar day of employment and may use sick time as it is accrued on a prospective basis. Accruals are posted in Banner Self Service (SISWeb) the 1st of the following month in which they are earned. All employees are responsible for requesting the use of sick leave with as much advance notice as foreseeable prior to the start of the work-shift and in accordance with University and department procedures. Faculty and Staff leave balances and other account information can be found by navigating to My SOU – Faculty/Staff tab – Banner Self Service (SISWeb) – Employee – Leave Balances. Student employee leave balances and other account information can be found by navigating to My SOU – Student SISWeb tab – Banner Self Service (SISWeb) – Employee – Leave Balances.
Sick Leave accruals are limited to eighty (80) earned hours, with a maximum carry-over of forty (40) hours per calendar year. An employee who is re-employed by SOU within 180 days of separation will have previously accrued unused sick leave restored.
Sick leave may be used for the following reasons:
- Employee or immediate family member* experiences a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition (includes dental);
- Employee or immediate family member* needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition (includes dental);
- Employee or immediate family member* needs preventive medical care (includes dental);
- Parental leave – to care for an infant or newly adopted child under age 18 or for a newly placed foster child under age 18;
- Bereavement Leave – within 60 days of receiving notice to deal with the death of an immediate family member* (e.g., attend funeral or alternative, make arrangements, grieve);
- Public health emergencies which closes school, work or childcare as declared by a Public Health Official;
- Time off to address domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking matters.
Federal law prohibits Universities from providing fringe benefits such as sick leave, vacation pay, or holiday pay, to students in Federal Work-Study (FWS) positions. As a result, FWS positions are not eligible to earn a sick leave accrual.
*Immediate Family Member is defined as the employee’s spouse, same-gender domestic partner (as described in ORS 106.300 to 106.340), biological child, adopted child, stepchild, foster child, same-gender domestic partner’s child, parent, adoptive parent, stepparent, foster parent, parent-in-law, same-gender domestic partner’s parent, grandparent, grandchild, and any individual with whom an employee has or had an in loco parentis* relationship.
*Persons “in loco parentis” are those with day-to-day responsibilities to care for or financially support a child, or who had such responsibility for the employee when the employee was a child.
