Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) Approved
equivalent plans become effective on September 3, 2023, at the same time Paid
Family and Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) benefits may first be paid to
eligible employees. However, the department is accepting equivalent plan
applications beginning September 6, 2022.
(2) No later than May 31, 2023, an employer
who wishes to provide an equivalent plan with an effective date of September 3,
2023 must submit to the department an equivalent plan application that meets
the requirements of OAR
471-070-2210.
(3) Equivalent plan application:
(a) To be exempt from paying required
quarterly contribution payments to the Oregon PFMLI program in accordance with
ORS 657B.150 and OAR
471-070-3030(6),
an employer that is going to provide its employees with an equivalent plan as
of September 3, 2023, must receive approval of an equivalent plan application.
The equivalent plan application must be submitted to the department by the
following dates:
(A) By November 30, 2022, to
be exempt from paying and remitting the contribution payments beginning with
the first quarter that starts January 1, 2023.
(B) By February 28, 2023, to be exempt from
paying and remitting contribution payments beginning with the second quarter
that starts April 1, 2023.
(C) By
May 31, 2023, to be exempt from paying and remitting contribution payments
beginning with the third quarter that starts July 1, 2023.
(b) For equivalent plan applications
submitted on or after June 1, 2023 and before July 1, 2023, the equivalent plan
application, if approved by the department, will be exempt from paying and
remitting contribution payments beginning with the fourth quarter that starts
October 1, 2023.
(c) For equivalent
plan applications submitted on or after July 1, 2023, the equivalent plan
application must follow OAR
471-070-2210, and the employer
is liable for all contributions required to be paid or remitted in accordance
with ORS 657B.150 prior to the effective
date of the equivalent plan.
(4) Declaration of Intent:
(a) If an employer is unable to submit an
equivalent plan application by the dates described in section (3)(a) of this
rule, the department is allowing an interim solution under which the employer
may submit a signed and certified Declaration of Intent acknowledging and
agreeing to the following conditions:
(A)
Beginning January 1, 2023, and continuing until the department has approved the
equivalent plan application, notwithstanding OAR
471-070-3040, the employer
shall:
(i) Deduct employee contributions from
the subject wages of each employee in an amount that is equal to 60 percent of
the total contribution rate determined in OAR
471-070-3010; or
(ii) If the employer is making the employee
contributions in part or in full on the employee's behalf, place in trust for
the State of Oregon an amount that is equal to 60 percent of the total
contribution rate determined in OAR
471-070-3010.
(B) The employer shall hold any
moneys collected or to be contributed on behalf of the employee under this
section in trust for the State of Oregon but will not be required to pay
employer contributions or remit the withheld employee contributions to the
department, unless the department does not receive an equivalent plan
application as described in section (3) of this rule or the Declaration of
Intent is cancelled as described in this subsection and sections (5) and (6) of
this rule. If the equivalent plan application as described in section (3) of
this rule is approved by the department, the money collected from the employees
may either be returned to the employees or be used for administrative costs as
defined in OAR 471-070-2200 and benefits under
an approved equivalent plan and cannot be considered part of an employer's
assets for any purpose.
(C) The
employer must submit the Declaration of Intent to the department no later than
November 30, 2022 to be exempt from paying and remitting contribution payments
beginning with the first quarter that starts January 1, 2023.
(D) The employer must submit an equivalent
plan application no later than the May 31, 2023, deadline as described in
section (3) of this rule.
(b) If an equivalent plan application is not
received by the department by May 31, 2023, the Declaration of Intent is
cancelled and no longer effective. The employer is then liable for paying and
remitting an amount equal to the sum of all unpaid employer contributions that
were held in trust for the State of Oregon and all unpaid employee
contributions due for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and is
subject to penalties and interest as described in section (6) of this
rule.
(5) An employer
that submitted an equivalent plan application or a Declaration of Intent as
described in sections (3) and (4) of this rule, may cancel the request for
approval or the Declaration of Intent by contacting the department. The
employer is then liable for paying and remitting an amount equal to the sum of
all unpaid employer and employee contribution payments due for periods
beginning on or after January 1, 2023 and is subject to penalties and interest
as described in section (7) of this rule.
(6) The department may cancel the approval of
an equivalent plan or Declaration of Intent prior to September 3, 2023, for
reasons that include, but are not limited to:
(a) Misuse of employee contributions withheld
or retained by the employer;
(b)
Failure to adhere to applicable PFMLI program requirements, including but not
limited to OAR 471-070-2220;
(c) Withheld employee contributions that were
greater than the employee contributions that would have been charged to the
employees under ORS 657B.150;
(d) Failure to respond timely to the
department's reasonable inquires for information about the equivalent plan or
Declaration of Intent; or
(e)
Failure to submit an equivalent plan application or receive approval of the
application by the department as described in section (3) of this
rule.
(7)
(a) As of the date the equivalent plan
approval or the Declaration of Intent is canceled or denied, the employer must
pay and remit immediately to the department all unpaid contributions due for
periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and is subject to penalties and
interest in accordance with ORS
657B.320 and related
administrative rules.
(b) An
employer that is required to pay or remit contributions, penalties, and
interests, in accordance with this section or sections (4), (5), or (6) of this
rule may remit employee contributions previously withheld, that were held in
trust for the payment of employee contributions due, but the employer is
prohibited from withholding additional contributions from employees
retroactively to pay any other amounts due. Employee contributions may not be
used to pay penalties and interest imposed on the employer.
(8) An employer that has received
approval of an equivalent plan application by one of the deadlines in section
(3) of this rule may withhold employee contributions in accordance with ORS
657B.210 beginning January 1,
2023, but the employer will not be required to pay employer contributions or
remit employee contributions in accordance with ORS
657B.150, unless the equivalent
plan application approval is subsequently canceled as described in sections (5)
and (6) of this rule.
(9) Section
(3) of this rule is in effect until September 3, 2023.
Publications: Contact the Oregon Employment Department for
information about how to obtain a copy of the publication referred to or
incorporated by reference in this rule.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
657B.340
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
657B.210
