Under the Portland Sick Leave Ordinance, effective January 1, 2014, employees who work part-time, full-time, or occasionally within the city of Portland for at least 240 hours in a year accrue one hour of protected sick time, up to 40 hours per year, for every 30 hours worked. For employers with at least six employees, the sick time must be paid. For employers with five or fewer employees, the protected sick time may be unpaid.

Straightforward on its face, the Ordinance is complicated by entitlements, obligations, and restrictions outlined in the City’s final Administrative Rules (released November 1, 2013) and on-going interpretations from City administrators (including FAQs released on December 24, 2013, and January 13, 2014). These can trap employers as they begin administering the Portland Sick Leave. Below are five potential traps all employers should keep in mind.

First, there is no waiting period for accrual of the sick leave entitlement, so employees begin accruing leave time well before they are eligible to use it. Employees must work 240 hours in Portland before they can use sick leave. The Administrative Rules clarify that accrual begins the later of January 1, 2014, or an employee’s date of hire. Employers that typically begin benefit accruals after an initial introductory period, therefore, should update their new-hire policies.

Second, the benefit must be calculated for commis- sioned employees. The Administrative Rules pro- vide that employees are entitled to receive only their “base rate of pay” for a qualifying absence, without accounting for, among other things, commissions. In its December 24 FAQs, however, the City indi- cated that employees paid by commission only still must receive minimum wage for any absences covered by the Ordinance. While the FAQs are not requirements, they reflect the City’s interpretation to which a court may defer.

Third, employers need to monitor sick leave for salaried employees. The Ordinance expressly extends paid sick leave to salaried employees. Employers that traditionally do not monitor salaried employees’ sick leave use because state and federal wage laws generally prohibit salary deductions for such absences must now establish and monitor a sick leave plan for their exempt staff. Nothing in the Ordinance alters existing wage laws, and salaried employees remain entitled to their full salary for partial-day absences, regardless of whether they have accrued Portland Sick Leave or not.

Fourth, human resources, legal, and managerial staff should be trained to ensure compliance in administering the Ordinance and to avoid statutory retaliation claims and other penalties. In addition to a general prohibition on retaliating against employees who take sick leave, and the accompany- ing serious penalties, employers who refuse a valid request for sick leave may be liable for up to the greater of $250 or three times the dollar amount of sick time the employee was refused.

Finally, the Administrative Rules require employers to post a notice of employee rights and provide written notice to all eligible employees of their rights by the end of the first pay period in 2014. The Ordinance authorizes the Bureau of Labor and Industries to assess $1,000 fines for violations of the posting and notice requirements. The required poster is available free at www.portlandoregon.gov/sicktime.