Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) "Affinity," as
the term is used in ORS
657B.010, means a relationship
that meets the following requirements:
(a)
There is a significant personal bond that, when examined under the totality of
the circumstances, is like a family relationship, and;
(b) The bond under section (a) of this rule
may be demonstrated by, but is not limited to, the following factors, with no
single factor being determinative:
(A) Shared
personal financial responsibility, including shared leases, common ownership of
real or personal property, joint liability for bills, or beneficiary
designations;
(B) Emergency contact
designation of the claimant by the other individual in the relationship, or
vice versa;
(C) The expectation to
provide care because of the relationship or the prior provision of
care;
(D) Cohabitation and its
duration and purpose;
(E)
Geographical proximity; and
(F)
Other factors that demonstrate the existence of a family-like
relationship.
(2) "Application" means the process in which
an individual submits the required information and documentation described in
OAR 471-070-1100 to request benefits
for a period of leave. Approval of an application establishes a
claim.
(3) "Average weekly wage"
means the amount calculated by the department as the state average weekly
covered wage under ORS
657.150 (4)(e)
as determined not more than once per year. The average weekly wage is:
(a) Set for each fiscal year beginning July 1
and ending June 30 of the following year;
(b) Applied for the calculation of weekly
benefit amounts starting the first full week following July 1;
(c) Applied for the entire benefit year after
a new benefit year is established, even if the average weekly wage amount
changes when the new fiscal year begins.
(4) "Benefit year" means a period of 52
consecutive weeks beginning on the Sunday immediately preceding the day that
family, medical, or safe leave commences for the claimant, except that the
benefit year shall be 53 weeks if a 52-week benefit year would result in an
overlap of any quarter of the base year of a previously filed valid claim. A
claimant may only have one valid benefit year at a time.
(5) "Bias," as the term is used for a safe
leave purpose described in ORS
659A.272, means a bias crime as
defined in ORS 147.380.
(6) "Calendar quarter" means the period of
three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or
December 31.
(7) "Care," as the
term is used in ORS 657B.010(17)(a)(B),
means physical or psychological assistance as used for leave taken to care for
a family member with a serious health condition.
(a) "Physical assistance" means assistance
attending to a family member's basic medical, activities of daily living,
safety, or nutritional needs when that family member is unable to attend to
those needs themselves, or transporting the family member to a health care
provider when the family member is unable to transport themselves.
(b) "Psychological assistance" means
providing comfort, reassurance, companionship to a family member, or completing
administrative tasks for the family member, or arranging for changes in the
family member's care, such as, but not limited to, transfer to a nursing
home.
(8) "Child," as
the term is used for family leave to care for and bond with a child during the
first year after the child's birth, foster placement, or adoption, and as the
term is used for a safe leave purpose described in ORS
659A.272, means an individual
described in ORS 657B.010(6) and
who is:
(a) Under the age of 18; or
(b) Age 18 or older as an adult dependent
substantially limited by a physical or mental impairment as defined by ORS
659A.104.
(9) "Claim" means a period of Paid Family and
Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) benefits that starts with an approved
application for benefits and continues through the duration of the approved
leave until the approved leave or benefit amount has been exhausted or the
approved timeframe for the leave has been reached. A claimant may have multiple
claims in a benefit year but may not be approved for more than the allowable
benefit or leave amount as described in OAR
471-070-1030.
(10) "Claimant" means an individual who has
submitted an application or established a claim for benefits.
(11) "Claimant Designated Representative"
means an individual described in OAR
471-070-1250.
(12) "Consecutive" leave means leave taken
for a continuous period of time, without interruption, based upon a claimant's
regular work schedule from all employment for a single qualifying purpose. A
claimant who is taking consecutive leave may not perform work for any employer
or perform self-employed work during the leave period.
(13) "Domestic violence," as the term is used
for a safe leave purpose described in ORS
659A.272, means abuse or the
threat of abuse, as abuse is defined in ORS
107.705.
(14) "Eligible employee's average weekly
wage" means an amount calculated by the department by dividing the total wages
earned by an eligible employee during the base year by 52 weeks.
(15) "First year" after the child's birth,
foster placement, or adoption means the timeframe beginning the day of the
child's birth, foster placement, or adoption and ending the day before the
child's first birthday or first anniversary of the foster placement or
adoption.
(16) "Harassment," as the
term is used for a safe leave purpose described in ORS
659A.272, means the crime of
harassment described in ORS
166.065.
(17) "Health care provider" means a person,
other than a claimant or a person for whom a claimant is providing care, who is
one of the following:
(a) A person who is
primarily responsible for providing health care to the claimant or the family
member of the claimant before or during a period of PFMLI leave, who is
licensed or certified to practice in accordance with the laws of the state or
country in which they practice, who is performing within the scope of the
person's professional license or certificate, and who is:
(A) A chiropractic physician, but only to the
extent the chiropractic physician provides treatment consisting of manual
manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation demonstrated to exist by
X-rays;
(B) A dentist;
(C) A direct entry midwife;
(D) A naturopathic physician;
(E) A nurse practitioner;
(F) A nurse practitioner specializing in
nurse-midwifery;
(G) An
optometrist;
(H) A
physician;
(I) A physician
associate;
(J) A
psychologist;
(K) A registered
nurse; or
(L) A regulated social
worker.
(b) A person who
is primarily responsible for the treatment of the claimant or the family member
of the claimant solely through spiritual means before or during a period of
PFMLI leave, including but not limited to a Christian Science
practitioner.
(18)
"Intermittent" leave means leave taken periodically in separate blocks of time
or when leave is taken for two or more leave types simultaneously for an entire
work day or work week from all employment. A claimant who is taking
intermittent leave can perform work for any employer or perform self-employed
work on work days they are not taking leave.
(19) "Offset" means the withholding of an
amount from a benefit payment which would otherwise be payable to a
claimant.
(20) "Self-employed
individual's average weekly income" means the amount calculated by the
department by adding the total of an individual's taxable income from
self-employment, on which contributions have been paid under OAR
471-070-2030, and subject wages,
if any, earned during the base year, and dividing by 52 weeks.
(21) "Serious health condition" means an
illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition of a claimant or
their family member that:
(a) Requires
inpatient care in a medical care facility such as, but not limited to, a
hospital, hospice, or residential facility such as, but not limited to, a
nursing home or inpatient substance abuse treatment center;
(b) In the medical judgment of the treating
health care provider poses an imminent danger of death, or that is terminal in
prognosis with a reasonable possibility of death in the near future;
(c) Requires constant or continuing care,
including home care administered by a health care professional;
(d) Involves a period of incapacity.
"Incapacity" is the inability to perform at least one essential job function,
or to attend school or perform regular daily activities for more than three
consecutive calendar days. A period of incapacity includes any subsequent
required treatment or recovery period relating to the same condition. The
incapacity must involve one of the following:
(A) Two or more treatments by a health care
provider; or
(B) One treatment plus
a regimen of continuing care.
(e) Results in a period of incapacity or
treatment for a chronic serious health condition that requires periodic visits
for treatment by a health care provider, continues over an extended period of
time, and may cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity,
such as, but not limited to, asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy;
(f) Involves permanent or long-term
incapacity due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective, such
as, but not limited to, Alzheimer's Disease, a severe stroke, or terminal
stages of a disease. The employee or family member must be under the continuing
care of a health care provider, but need not be receiving active
treatment;
(g) Involves multiple
treatments for restorative surgery or for a condition such as, but not limited
to, chemotherapy for cancer, physical therapy for arthritis, or dialysis for
kidney disease that if not treated would likely result in incapacity of more
than three calendar days;
(h)
Involves any period of disability due to pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage or
stillbirth, or period of absence for prenatal care; or
(i) Involves any period of absence from work
for the donation of a body part, organ, or tissue, including preoperative or
diagnostic services, surgery, post-operative treatment, and recovery.
(22) "Sexual Assault," as the term
is used for a safe leave purpose described in ORS
659A.272, means any sexual
offense or the threat of a sexual offense as described in ORS
163.305 to
163.467,
163.472 or
163.525.
(23) "Stalking," as the term is used for a
safe leave purpose described in ORS
659A.272, means:
(a) The crime of stalking or the threat of
the crime of stalking as described in ORS
163.732; or
(b) A situation that results in a victim
obtaining a court's stalking protective order or a temporary court's stalking
protective order under ORS
30.866.
(24) "Subject Wages" means PFMLI wages that
are paid and reported for an employee, as defined in ORS
657B.010(13),
or an employee of a tribal government who has elected coverage under ORS
657B.130.
(25) "Willful" and "willfully" means a
knowing and intentional act or omission.
(26) "Willful false statement" means any
occurrence where:
(a) A claimant or employer
makes a statement or submits information that is false;
(b) The claimant or employer knew or should
have known the statement or information was false when making or submitting
it;
(c) The statement or submission
concerns a fact that is material to the rights and responsibilities of either
the claimant or the employer under ORS chapter 657B; and
(d) The claimant or employer made the
statement or submitted the information with the intent that the department
would rely on the statement or information when taking action.
(27) "Willful failure to report a
material fact" means any occurrence where:
(a)
A claimant or employer omits or fails to disclose information;
(b) The claimant or employer knew or should
have known that the information should have been provided;
(c) The information concerns a fact that is
material to the rights and responsibilities of either the claimant or the
employer under ORS chapter 657B; and
(d) The claimant or employer omitted or did
not disclose the information with the intent that the department would take
action based on other information or a lack of information.
(28) "Work day" means any day on
which an employee performs any work for an employer and is an increment of a
work week.
(29) "Work week" means a
seven day period beginning on a Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and ending on the
following Saturday at midnight.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
657B.090,
657B.340 &
657B.023
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
657B.010, ORS
657B.090,
657B.023,
657B.332 & Chapter 73 Oregon
Laws 2024
