The Administrative Order to establish the Administrative Rules for the Eugene Sick Leave Ordinance (click here to download) was published by the City of Eugene January 6, beginning the 15 day comment period that will end at 5 pm on January 21.

Any comments received during this time will then be considered prior to approval of the final rules by January 31. Please submit any comments you may have directly to paidsicktime@ci.eugene.or.us. Contact Jason Dedrick with the City of Eugene if you have questions.

Highlights include:

Frontloading: An employer’s provision of sick time in advance of accrual shall be permissible frontloading, provided that the frontloading otherwise meets the requirements of the Ordinance or these Rules for accrual, use, and carryover.

Existing Policy: Employers that have adopted and are implementing sick leave or paid time off (PTO) policies that provide their employees with leave that equals or exceeds the requirements of the Ordinance shall be deemed in compliance with the accrual and use sections of the Ordinance and these Rules.

Existing PTOs: Employers with PTO policies that provide their employees with 40 hours of paid time off to use for any purpose, shall not be required to offer employees additional sick leave if the employees have exhausted their PTO for purposes other than for sick leave.

Increments and Coverage: When an employee uses sick time for a scheduled appointment or to care for a family member, sick time can be used in increments of one hour. When an employee uses sick time because the employee is sick, sick time must be used in increments of two hours, unless a lesser increment is allowed by the employer.

Documentation for Suspected Sick Time Abuse: If an employer suspects sick time abuse the employer may require documentation from a health care provider verifying the employees need to use sick time, regardless of whether the employee has used sick time for more than 3 consecutive days. Indications of patterns of abuse include, but are not limited to, use of unscheduled sick time adjacent to weekends and holidays, vacations, or pay day.

Grace Period: No civil penalties will be imposed for non-compliance with the Ordinance or these Rules prior to three months from the date specified in the Ordinance (currently July 1, 2015). However, employers found to be in violation will be responsible for compensating the employee.