Portland’s Protected Sick Time Ordinance mandates the provision of up to 40 hours of sick leave per year to all employees of at least 90 days and who have worked at least 240 hours in a year within Portland city limits.

Employers with 6 or more employees must provide at least one hour of paid Sick Time for every 30 hours of work performed by the employee within the city.  Employers with 5 or fewer employees must provide a minimum of one hour of unpaid sick time for every 30 hours of work performed within the city.

Employers with existing Sick Leave or PTO policies that meet or exceed the requirements of the Ordinance are deemed in compliance.

Employees may use their sick leave to attend to medical care for themselves or their family members, closure of school or child care provider, domestic violence cases, and for other health reasons.

To be eligible, employees must have worked 240 hours in a year within the City. If a person changes employers or is separated from their employer for more than 6 months, then he/she will need to reestablish eligibility.  Employees may not use Sick Leave during the first 90 days of their employment, though they accrue Sick Leave from the first day of employment in the City.

Employers may require an Employee to provide reasonable notice of an absence for Sick Leave. This means abiding by the Employer’s notification policy.  If there is no such policy in place, it should be implemented prior to the effective date of the Ordinance.

When an employee uses Sick Leave more than 3 consecutive days or the Employer suspects a pattern of abuse of the Sick Leave ordinance, the Employer may request documentation that the Sick Leave is being used for a qualifying absence.  If the employee fails to provide the required documentation, the Employer may deny the use of Sick Time for the absence taken until the Employee provides the documentation.

Employers must provide employees with written notice of their entitlement to Sick Time, conditions for its use, and instructions on how to file a complaint.

Employers must notify each Employee, at least quarterly, of the amount of accrued and unused Sick Time available for use by the Employee.

In addition, employers with employees working any time in Portland must display this poster along with the other required labor posters.  For more details, refer to the final administrative rules provided by the City of Portland.

If you would like Time 4 Payroll to help track Portland Sick Leave accruals, let us know.  A small fee will apply.