by Robert S. Teachout, SHRM-SCP, Brightmine Legal Editor
Effective January 1, 2026, covered Oregon employees may use leave under the Oregon Sick Time Law (OSTL) to make a blood donation.
The OSTL requires employers to provide sick and safe time to eligible employees for qualifying reasons. Whether the time is paid or unpaid depends on the employer’s size.
A recently enacted amendment adds as a qualifying reason for OSTL leave a blood donation made in connection with a voluntary program that is approved or accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks or the American Red Cross.
Oregon joins San Francisco on the short list of jurisdictions whose mandatory paid sick leave laws make donations a qualifying reason for leave (in San Francisco, bone marrow or organ donation). California’s bone marrow and organ donation leave requirements are separate from its paid sick leave law.
One way that the OSTL is unique, however, is that it also allows an eligible employee to donate accrued sick and safe time to another employee if the other employee uses the donated time for a qualifying purpose under the law. Doing so also requires that the employer have a policy that permits such a donation.
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About the author
Robert S. Teachout, SHRM-SCP
Legal Editor, Brightmine
Robert Teachout has more than 30 years’ experience in legal publishing covering employment laws on the state and federal level. At Brightmine, he covers labor relations, performance appraisals and promotions, succession and workforce planning, HR professional development and employment contracts. He often writes on the intersection of compliance with HR strategy and practice.
Before joining Brightmine, Robert was a senior HR editor at Thompson Information Services, covering FMLA, ADA, EEO issues and federal and state leave laws. Prior to that he was the primary editor of Bloomberg BNA’s State Labor Laws binders and was the principal writer and editor of the State Wage Assignment and Garnishment Handbook. Robert also served as a union unit leader and shop steward in the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild of the Communications Workers of America. Actively involved in the HR profession, Robert is a member of SHRM at both the national and local levels, and gives back to the profession by serving as the communications vice president on the board of his local chapter.
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