What benefits can servers get in Oregon?
The short answer
The rule in Oregon
| Paid Leave Oregon | Up to 12 weeks in a 52-week period for family, medical, or safe leave, and in some pregnancy cases up to 2 more. You need at least $1,000 in Oregon wages in your base year. Full-time, part-time, and multiple jobs all count. Apply through Frances Online. |
|---|---|
| Tips count | Paid Leave Oregon lists tips and gratuities among the wages it uses to figure your benefit. |
| Weekly benefit | If your average weekly wage is 65% or less of the state average, you get 100% of your wages. For benefit years starting on or after June 28, 2026, the weekly range is $70.51 to $1,692.16. |
| Job protection and cost | Your job is protected after 90 consecutive days with the same employer. The 2026 contribution is 1% of wages up to $184,500, and employees pay 60% of it. |
| Sick time | 1 hour per 30 worked, up to 40 hours a year. Paid if your employer has 10 or more employees (6 or more with a Portland location); otherwise protected but unpaid. Usable after 90 days. |
| Oregon Health Plan (OHP) | Oregon’s Medicaid program: medical, dental, prescription, and behavioral health care at no cost. Enrollment is always open at ONE.Oregon.gov. |
| OHP Bridge | No-cost coverage for adults at 133% to 200% of the poverty level, $21,228 to $31,920 a year for one person (limits through February 2027). |
| Oregon earned income credit | 12% of your federal EITC if you have a dependent under 3, otherwise 9%. ITIN filers may claim it. |
| Oregon Kids Credit, 2025 | $1,050 per child aged 0 to 5, up to five children, at a modified AGI of $26,550 or less, phasing out at $31,550. Tip income you deducted federally may need to be added back. |
“Employees who currently work in Oregon and who made at least $1,000 in Oregon in their base year before they apply for Paid Leave may be eligible for benefits.” (Paid Leave Oregon)
What’s different in Oregon
Oregon is explicit about tips. The Paid Leave Oregon FAQ lists tips and gratuities as wages, so a server’s benefit is figured on what the job really paid, not only the hourly rate. The formula also leans toward low earners: anyone at or under 65% of the state average weekly wage gets full wage replacement.
Health coverage reaches further up the income scale than standard Medicaid. OHP Bridge picks up adults between 133% and 200% of the poverty level with no member costs, and OHP includes dental. The state is also moving its marketplace off the federal platform, with its own system due by November 1, 2026, for 2027 enrollment. Plus the federal programs.
Official sources
- Paid Leave Oregon
- Paid Leave Oregon: common questions
- Paid Leave Oregon: employee overview
- Oregon Employment Department: 2026 minimum and maximum weekly benefit amounts
- Oregon BOLI: Sick time
- Oregon Health Authority: Apply for the Oregon Health Plan
- Oregon Health Authority: OHP Bridge
- Oregon Department of Revenue: tax credits
- Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace: state-based marketplace transition
Last verified
. Checked the agency pages linked above.
Still open: The Oregon Kids Credit and earned income credit figures are for tax year 2025. Weekly benefit amounts for Paid Leave Oregon change each June.