Oregon Veterans Day Off

Oregon gives veterans a legal right to take Veterans Day off work. Senate Bill 1 from the 2013 regular session requires employers to offer an eligible veteran employee paid or unpaid time off on November 11 each year. Few states create an individual employment right like this, and it applies to private employers, not only the public sector. It is worth knowing precisely because the mechanics decide whether a request succeeds. Notice is on the employee and the deadline is real. Give the employer notice and proof of service, such as a DD-214, at least 21 days before Veterans Day. That means the middle of October. A request made in early November is late and the employer is not obliged to honor it. The employer then has to respond at least 14 days before the holiday, confirming explicitly whether the time off is granted and whether it will be paid or unpaid. Paid or unpaid is the employer's choice, so this is a right to the day, not a right to be paid for it. Denial is not free. An employer may deny only by demonstrating that granting the request would cause a significant economic or operational disruption or an undue hardship. If it does deny on that basis, it must then allow the veteran a single day off before the following Veterans Day, and that day must be in addition to any other time off the employee would otherwise be entitled to. So a legitimate denial converts the day rather than cancelling it. Because the employer must respond in writing on both the grant and the paid-or-unpaid question, an employee who gave timely notice and heard nothing has a clear record. Two related leave provisions sit nearby. Oregon state employees with at least six months of service who serve in the National Guard or armed forces reserves get 21 days of paid military leave each year under ORS 408.290, without loss of time, pay, or regular leave and without a negative effect on an efficiency rating. And the Oregon Military Family Leave Act gives the spouse or domestic partner of a member called to active duty or deployed 14 days of unpaid leave, at employers with 25 or more employees, for someone working an average of at least 25 hours a week. Questions about any of these go to the Bureau of Labor and Industries.