The Oregon legislature recently passed the Oregon Military Family Leave Act (“OMFLA”). This law allows the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces, National Guard, or military reserves to take up to 14 days of protected unpaid time away from work for each military deployment for reasons related to the deployment. This leave is very similar to the recent addition to the federal Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), which allows certain family members to take protected leave to address a qualifying exigency.
In many ways, the OMFLA is similar to the Oregon Family Leave Act (“OFLA”). For example, only employers with at least 25 employees are subject to the OMFLA. Further, employees taking leave under the OMFLA are entitled to be restored to their original position. And, any leave used under the OMFLA will count against the employee’s allotted leave allowance under OFLA.
Employers who have employees asking for time away from work need to be mindful of the various state and federal leave laws that provide such leave and protect employees who have exercised their leave rights. Denying a request for protected leave or disciplining the employee for missing work due to a protected reason is considered interference with an employee’s leave rights. When in doubt, be sure to check with your employment attorney regarding a request for leave from work.
