Benefits begin rolling out under Oregon’s new paid leave program

This month, Oregon became the latest state to start paying out benefits under its new paid leave program. Workers can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave for family, medical or safe leave, which is available to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment. Workers applying to take paid leave for pregnancy may be eligible for an additional two weeks of benefits. Although self-employed people or independent contractors are not automatically covered under the program, they can make quarterly contributions to participate, depending on eligibility. We’ll hear from Karen Humelbaugh, director of Paid Leave Oregon about how the program is going, its impact so far and the online application process, which is available for English and Spanish speakers.