States Jointly Issue New Paid Leave Guidance for Oregon-Washington Employers

By Heather J. Van Meter - Bullard Law

October 14, 2022

In a rare joint issuance, the state agencies in charge of paid Family Medical Leave (FML) programs in Oregon and Washington have issued clarification on which state’s paid leave program applies for employees crossing the states’ joint border. Read it here.

Predictably, employees performing all work while physically located in Oregon are reportable to and covered by Oregon. Likewise, employees performing all work while physically located in Washington are reportable to and covered by Washington. For workers doing work in both states, a “base of operation/control” test is being used, so workers with a base of operations in Oregon or workers taking direction from and controlled by an Oregon-based person or entity are reportable to and covered by Oregon, and vice versa with Washington. For workers without a “base of operation/control” in either Oregon or Washington, including workers working in multiple states, the worker living in Oregon is reportable to and covered by Oregon, and the worker living in Washington is reportable to and covered by Washington. For workers not living in Oregon or Washington, no guidance is provided. Each employee situation may be unique; contact Bullard Law with your questions.

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