New Paid Leave Oregon program sees 19,000 applicants in its first month, fewer than half the expected number

5,800 applications approved, $2.3 million in benefits paid

SALEM – Paid Leave Oregon released new data this week, and also provided some helpful tips for Oregonians who plan to file a claim. 

The data through Sunday, Sept. 17, which is on the Oregon Employment Department’s dashboard, shows about 19,000 people have applied for benefits since Aug. 14. This number is lower than the forecasted 41,000 applications the program expected to have within the first month of applications being open.

So far, more than 5,800 applications have been approved and about $2.3 million in benefits have been paid. Benefit payments started going out to Oregon workers with approved claims on Sept. 13.

Paid Leave Oregon Director Karen Humelbaugh said there are a few things people can do to speed up their claim process. 

After submitting an application, employees should check their Frances Online account regularly and respond to any alerts or notifications. The program cannot approve benefits until it receives a complete application, which includes the correct supporting documents.

“When you don’t attach the correct supporting documents we need to approve your specific type of leave, it takes longer to process your claim,” Humelbaugh said. “Please use Paid Leave’s official forms whenever possible and make sure to use our employee toolkit to see what official documents you need to have ready.”

Employers also need to go into their Frances account and respond to their part of an employee’s benefits request. An employer’s timely response makes sure the program can process an employee’s benefits application quickly and accurately.  

Paid Leave Oregon covers paid family leave, medical leave, and safe leave for working Oregonians. Employees can apply through Frances Online for the following reasons:

• To care for themselves or members of their family during the birth of a child, or to bond with a child after birth, adoption, or placement of a child in their home through foster care
• To care for themselves during a serious health condition
• To care for a family member when they have a serious health condition
• If they or their child experience sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, or stalking

Detailed information for employees, including eligibility requirements, tutorial videos, a benefits calculator, and much more, is on the Paid Leave website at paidleave.oregon.gov.

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The Oregon Employment Department (OED) is an equal opportunity agency. Everyone has a right to use OED programs and services. OED provides free help. Some examples are sign language and spoken language interpreters, written materials in other languages, braille, large print, audio and other formats. If you need help, please call 971-673-6400. TTY users call 711. You can also ask for help at OED_Communications@employ.oregon.gov.