PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Gov. Kate Brown signed into law Oregon’s Paid Family Medical Leave bill, one of the most progressive family leave laws in the country.
Under the new law, Oregon workers will get up to 12 weeks paid time off for various family reasons — a new baby, a newly adopted or foster child and recovering from illness. Victims of domestic violence also get paid time off and low-income workers are guaranteed 100% of their wages.
Before she signed the bill, she noted that Germany signed into law their family leave policy “not in 2003, not in 1983 but in 1883.”
In a statement she said, “Oregon families no longer need to make the difficult choice between paying the rent and staying home with their newborn, or between chemotherapy and keeping food on the table.”
The governor signed the bill in front of a number of working mothers and children at Bora Architects in Portland.
