Using paid time off during a leave
Q: What if my employee is out on a leave without pay (LWOP) but uses sick leave or vacation for the first few days of
their leave? Do I report all their days off as LWOP?
A: No. Do not include paid-leave days when counting days of unpaid leave. A day when an employee is using employer-paid
leave like sick leave or vacation is a paid-leave day. Report paid-leave days like regular worked days and include them
in the employee’s regular wages. Their LWOP begins once they are finished using paid leave. Report the LWOP to PERS only
if it meets the definition of an LWOP as explained in
employer guide 11, Reporting a Leave,
“Overview,” section “Leave Without Pay FAQ,” question 1: What Is a Leave Without Pay?
Q: What if my employee is only using a couple of hours of vacation pay a day? Is that considered a paid leave?
A: Yes. Any number of paid hours, no matter how small, is considered leave with pay. When your employee is (1) no longer
receiving pay from the employer and (2) away from work for more than half the calendar days in a calendar month, then
you should report the unpaid leave to PERS.
Q: If my employee is using donated sick leave while out on Paid Leave Oregon, would I report the employee as out on
leave?
A: No. Do not change their status to a leave status when they are using employer-paid time off. Report their hours/wages
the same as if the employee were using their own accrued sick leave (i.e., report the time to PERS like regular, worked
time). Learn more about using donated sick leave in
employer reporting guide 11, Reporting a Leave,
section “Types of Leave,” “Donated Sick Leave.”
Q: My employee is using four hours of sick leave a day to supplement the state-run Paid Leave Oregon program. How do I
report that pay?
A: Report the four hours of sick leave a day as regular wages, subject salary, as you normally would. Do not report your
employee as on a leave.
Q: Are we supposed to be reporting to PERS if an employee is on FMLA/OFLA and not being paid?
A: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) do not affect PERS. PERS is only concerned
with (1) whether you are employing the employee for the majority of a month, (2) what you pay your employee, (3) if your
employee has a change in job or qualification status, and (4) if your employee is away on an official leave without pay.
To be official, a leave must (1) last more than half the calendar days in a calendar month, (2) be completely unpaid by
you, the employer, and (3) be approved by the employer in writing.
If the employee’s FMLA/OFLA leave fits these requirements of an official LWOP, then report it by submitting a Detail 1
record with a 03 – On Family Leave status code.
Q: After reading guide 11, Reporting a Leave,
I think I have reported an employee’s leave incorrectly. How do I fix it?
A: Submit a Demographic Correction Request (DCR) to PERS and explain the error in the Comments field. Include the report
date of the original Detail 1 leave record. For instructions, see guide 20, Creating a DCR.
Nonstandard schedules (e.g., 24-hour days, weekends)
Q: So, you don’t report an employee on LWOP unless they are out for the major fraction of a calendar month, which
includes the weekend days in between their LWOP days. But what about employees who don’t work a standard M–F, 8–5
schedule? Firefighters, police, and healthcare workers work 24/7.
A: When counting an employee’s days of leave, a day is a day, whether your employee’s normal workday is 8 hours or 24
hours. The day starts over upon the employee’s start-time.
Next, how you count their weekends depends on how they requested the leave. If they requested, say, a solid 5-week
period of unpaid leave, count all the weekend days that fall within that period after the first day of leave and before
the last day of requested leave. However, if they requested leave in separate periods, only count the weekend days that
fall between the start and end dates of each requested period. If the requested periods add up to more than half the
calendar days in that month, then the LWOP must be reported.
If you have any questions about reporting a leave for employees with a nonstandard schedule, contact your
ESC representative.
Effect on benefits, PERS disability benefits
Q: If my employee takes an unpaid leave of more than half the calendar days in a calendar month but works the rest of
the month, do they earn service credit for that month?
A: No. An employee does not earn service credit for a month in which they are on a leave without pay for the major
fraction of the month.
Q: What if my employee takes an unpaid medical leave and then is approved for PERS disability benefits? How does that
affect their PERS benefits?
A: When a PERS member takes LWOP because of illness or injury, they can receive service credit for their LWOP if they
are approved for PERS disability benefits. Learn more about PERS disability in
employer guide 14, Disability Benefits.
Workers’ compensation and Paid Leave Oregon
Q: What about an employee who is on an unpaid leave and receiving workers’ compensation?
A: Workers’ compensation benefits paid by employer: When the benefits are paid by the employer or being supplemented by
employer pay or paid time off, then your employee is not on unpaid leave. Report their employer-paid hours as regular
hours. If it is, say, two hours a day, then only report two hours of regular time per day.
Workers’ compensation benefits paid by third party: When an employee is on LWOP and receiving workers’ compensation from
a third party, that is an unpaid leave, as far as PERS is concerned. Change your employee’s status to an unpaid leave
status if their leave will last more than half the calendar days in a calendar month. In addition, make sure to send a
DCR informing ESC that your employee is receiving workers’ comp. The employee may be able to receive retirement credit
for that time under Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) Chapter 656 if they return to employment with a participating public
employer after the leave.
Q: If my employee is taking Paid Leave Oregon and receiving payments from a third-party insurer or the state, do I have
to report those payments to PERS? I don’t know what the employee is being paid.
A: No. The only payments you need to report to PERS as wages are those that come directly from the employer.