02/19/2026
UNDERSTANDING OUR BENEFITS: PAID LEAVE OREGON
Jason Foltz, OEA UniServ Consultant
[email protected] | (541) 801-3084
We are now in the third school year where Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) has been available as a potential benefit to our members. As awareness and use of PLO expands, we are seeing more questions and some misunderstandings about what it is and how it meshes with our traditional leave benefits. It is important that we support one another and build our collective understanding about PLO.
First and foremost, the title “Paid Leave Oregon” is a bit deceiving. Paid Leave Oregon is actually insurance. It is less like our traditional paid leave benefits like sick and personal leave and more like worker’s compensation. The original acronym in the legislation that created PLO was PMFLI or “Paid Medical Family Leave Insurance.” In our contracts that were last negotiated before the full implementation of PLO, you might see reference to PMFLI because that’s what it was called then. Losing the “insurance” part has contributed to the confusion.
PLO insurance benefits are paid through a statewide pool or a private provider like American Fidelity. Benefits can be paid for many of the same reasons that a member may have accessed FMLA leave in the past such as parental leave, personal illness, or the care of sick family member, but…the benefits come from the insurance provider, not the District. Thus, PLO is considered an unpaid leave from a District perspective, and this is one of the most significant points of confusion.
Our members work a set calendar year based on our contracts—such as a190 days. Our salaries assume that you will work that full year, and our pay is spread out over ten or twelve pay periods. Your monthly checks are typically equal amounts. For example, if your salary was $60,000 and you received 12 checks, your pay would be $5,000 a month. If you took some paid accrued leave from your own sick or personal leave banks over the year, but never exhausted those banks, your $5,000 checks would remain the same.
When you start taking PLO benefits, though, things get shaken up. You are not considered to have worked a full 190-day work year, and this impacts the pro-ration of your salary. Let’s say you were out for 20 days on PLO. You would receive the insurance benefits for that time, but your official time worked would now be reduced to 170 days. The pro-ration calculation is off, and the District will now need to adjust your pay. Your paycheck is not going to be $5,000 a month when you return to work. It will be a smaller amount based on the reduction in days.
You are allowed to use portions of your accrued sick and personal leave to keep you whole while accessing PLO (which can create a bit more confusion), but there will still be some overall impact on your annual days worked. This could impact things like total salary and retirement benefits.
PLO is an important benefit. It can offer a financial lifeline to members who have exhausted their own paid benefits but are confronted by an emergency like caring for an ailing family member. It can make bonding with a new child on parental leave a financial possibility for our members. That is awesome! However, it may not be the right fit for everyone depending on your personal circumstances. It is important to evaluate your options and ask questions if you are considering PLO benefits. We encourage you to follow up with your reps or to contact our office if you have questions.
Lincoln County EA
Corvallis EA
