Paid sick leave is now available to all Portland State employees, including students and part-timers.
The newly-passed Oregon law activated on Jan. 1.
Eligible employees will accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with a maximum of 40 hours of sick time a year, according to the official email issued by Kevin Reynolds, vice president of PSU Finance and Administration,
Those who are eligible include “[p]art-time employees, including part-time [PSU Faculty Association] represented faculty, graduate assistants, academic wage, temporary staff, student workers, [International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees], and other employees whose appointment is less than .50 FTE and not benefit-eligible,” stated Reynolds’ email.
Contracted workers are ineligible for paid sick leave since the PSU Sick Leave Policy excludes “independent contractors or those paid on Personal Service Contracts” as employees.
The official PSU Sick Leave Policy states that it is issued in accordance with state and federal laws, university policy and collective bargaining agreements, and ensures that “the policy or law that is most generous to the employee will take precedence.”
PSU employees who already received paid sick leave won’t need to expect any changes to policy or accrual rates, according to Reynolds’ email statement. This includes Regular Classified employees who are members of the Service Employees International Union, and unclassified employees who work at a half-day rate—or .50 Full Time Equivalency—or more “on a 12-month or 9-month benefits-eligible appointment.”
For more on the difference between classified and unclassified positions at PSU, go to pdx.edu/hr/position-types.
PSU employees can expect more updates about the newly-implemented PSU Sick Leave Policy from Human Resources via email.
To read the Sick Leave Policy, scroll pdx.edu/ogc/adopted-policies, or use our convenient direct link: bit.ly/1YZl31i.
For more information, go to pdx.edu/hr/2016-oregon-sick-leave-faqs.
To read a requirements summary of the Oregon paid sick leave law, go to oregon.gov/boli/WHD/OST/Documents/Sick-Time-Poster.pdf.
