OAR 471-070-1000: Benefits: Definitions

(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 subsection (a) of this section is demonstrated by 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 demonstrates 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) Effective each year for the calculation of weekly benefit amounts for any benefit year commencing on and after the week that includes July 4; and (b) Applied for the entire benefit year after a new benefit year is established, even if the average weekly wage amount changes during that benefit year. (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(18)(a)(C) 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 or 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 under ORS 657B.010(18)(a)(A) and (B), or 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 Leave Oregon 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) “Electronic signature” has the meaning given that term in ORS 84.004. (15) “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. (16) “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. (17) “Foster care” means 24-hour care for children in substitution for, and away from, their parents or guardian. Foster care placement is made by or with the agreement of the State as a result of a voluntary agreement between the parent or guardian that the child be removed from the home, or pursuant to a judicial determination of the necessity for foster care and involves agreement between the State and foster family that the foster family will take care of the child. Although foster care may be with relatives of the child, state action must be involved in the removal of the child from parental custody. (18) “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. (19) “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 Paid Leave Oregon 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 Paid Leave Oregon leave, including but not limited to a Christian Science practitioner. (20) “In loco parentis” means acting in the place of a parent, having financial or day-to-day responsibility for the care of a child. A legal or biological relationship is not required. (a) Whether a relationship qualifies as in loco parentis will be evaluated based on the totality of the circumstances, considering the following factors, with no single factor being determinative: (A) The age of the child; (B) The degree of the child’s dependence on the individual for care or support; (C) The extent of financial support provided by the individual; (D) The extent to which the individual performs duties commonly associated with parenthood; (E) The nature, duration, and consistency of the caregiving relationship; and (F) Other factors that demonstrate the existence of an in loco parentis relationship. (b) The factors listed in (a) may be demonstrated by documentation described in OAR 471-070-1110 and OAR 471-070-1130. (21) “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. (22) “Offset” means the withholding of an amount from a benefit payment which would otherwise be payable to a claimant. (23) “Pre-placement leave” means family leave taken under ORS 657B.010(18)(a)(B) before the actual adoption or foster placement of a child, if leave from work is required for the placement or adoption to proceed. Pre-placement leave may be taken by the prospective foster or adoptive parent in order to: (a) Attend counseling sessions; (b) Appear in court; (c) Consult with an attorney; (d) Submit to a physical examination or home study; (e) Travel to another state or country to complete an adoption; or (f) Perform other actions that the department has determined are necessary for completing the legal process of an adoption or foster placement. (24) “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. (25) “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. (26) “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. (27) “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. (28) “Subject Wages” means Paid Leave Oregon wages that are paid and reported for an employee, as defined in ORS 657B.010(14), or an employee of a tribal government who has elected coverage under ORS 657B.130. (29) “Willful” and “willfully” means a knowing and intentional act or omission. (30) “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. (31) “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. (32) “Work day” means any day on which an employee performs any work for an employer and is an increment of a work week. (33) “Work week” means a seven day period beginning on a Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and ending on the following Saturday at midnight.