What OREGON Employers Need to Know to Stay Compliant with Labor Regulations
Veterans Day is a Federal Holiday
Currently, four states in the U.S. require employers to give their employees who are veterans time off on Veterans Day (November 11th). Those states include Oregon, Iowa, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Request for Veterans Day Off
Employees who are veterans (as defined by Oregon law) and are scheduled to work on Veterans Day may request that day off. Legally, these employees must provide 21 days prior notice of their intent to take that day off and document their status as a qualifying veteran. However the employer does have the discretion to make last minute adjustments to the veterans work schedule.
Oregon Veterans Day Regulations
- Businesses must provide paid or unpaid time off for Veterans Day when the veteran employee would otherwise be required to work on that day if:
- The veteran employee provides at least three weeks’ notice that they intend to take time off for Veterans Day and provide documents showing that they are a veteran as defined by Oregon statute.
- The veteran must have served on active duty in the armed forces for at least six months and received an honorable discharge.
- If the employee served in a reserve or National Guard unit, the employee is only qualified for leave if they were deployed or served on active duty for at least six months.
What to do if Veterans Day Fall on a Weekend
Oregon law requires only that employers provide the actual day off if requested. It doesn’t require employers to observe Veterans Day at a different time if the holiday falls on a non-working day. Since November 11 falls on a Saturday this year, employers would not need to grant the veteran employee a different day off if the employee wouldn’t otherwise be working on November 11.
Veterans Day: Paid or Unpaid Holiday
An employer may decide whether the taking leave for this holiday is paid or unpaid and must tell the veteran employee at least 14 calendar days before Veterans Day.
Request Consideration
Upon receipt of this request, an employer may determine whether providing the time off would cause “significant economic or operational disruption” or whether allowing time off is an “undue hardship” as described in Oregon discrimination law. If so, the employer is not required to provide the day off.
Qualified Veterans Must Be Approved for One Day Off at Some Point!
If the employee cannot take Veterans Day off as requested due to a business hardship, they can choose to take another day off in honor of their service. By law, the employer must allow any qualified veteran who is denied a Veterans Day off to choose, with the employer’s approval, a single day off within the year after Veterans Day on which the employee worked as a replacement.
Employers Must Provide Time-off Approval Notification
By law, employers must inform the employee at least 14 days before Veterans Day [October 28, 2023] whether time off is approved and whether it will be paid or unpaid.
Fair Application of Veterans Day Law
If the employer determines that, because of significant economic or operational disruption or undue hardship, it cannot provide time off to all veterans who request it, the employer must deny time off to all employees who requested it or deny time off to the minimum number of employees the employer needs to avoid significant economic or operational disruption or undue hardship.
If you have questions regarding this law and its application, call Cardinal Services at (800) 342-4742, and we will help you stay compliant and advise you of your options.