Every type of worker, including employees and business owners, needs to take a leave of absence at some point. Maybe you have to care for an older relative or sick child, or recover from an important surgery. Maybe you’re expanding your family or helping your military spouse prepare for deployment.
When those moments come, the option to take paid leave is nothing short of life-changing. More than a quarter of US states now provide workers with some form of paid family or medical leave (PFML), but Oklahoma isn’t among them.
Still, if you’re a business owner in Oklahoma or employ remote workers in The Sooner State, you need to know how federal leave works. Keep reading for a complete explanation, plus information on how PFML functions across the country—and why it’s so valuable.
Does Oklahoma have any employee leave laws?
Oklahoma doesn’t have a statewide employee leave law that covers every type of worker, but the state does offer basic parental leave coverage to eligible public sector workers, like people in state government and public school district roles.
Employees in state government agencies
Are entitled to six weeks of paid maternity leave after childbirth or adoption
Must be employed full-time for two years before requesting leave
Employees in public school districts
Are entitled to six weeks of paid maternity leave after childbirth or adoption of a child under four
Are entitled to three days of paid bereavement leave following the death of a spouse or child
What about sick time, vacation, or short-term disability?
The Sooner State puts employee leave in employers’ hands; there are no statewide leave laws employers have to comply with. It’s up to you whether you offer workers any paid time off (PTO), earned sick time, or short-term disability.
What leave options do my employees have?
Without state-mandated leave of any kind, employees have just two options:
Use employer-provided sick time or paid vacation
Apply for federal leave
Unfortunately, there are some major limits to both. Let’s review how federal leave works.
How does leave work at the federal level?
In Oklahoma, certain employees will qualify for federal family and medical leave, which is unpaid. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), all employers with at least 50 employees are required to give them 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying life events.
FMLA leave qualifying situations | FMLA leave eligibility requirements | FMLA leave employee protections |
Bonding with a newborn, adopted, and fostered child Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition Managing a serious personal health condition Managing affairs when a spouse, child, or parent is on or called to active duty | Work for an employer for at least 12 months, consecutively or non-consecutively Work at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave begins Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles | Continued health insurance during leave Job protection |
The problem with federal leave is that most people in Oklahoma can’t access it. Data gathered by the National Partnership for Women and Families shows that 64% of Oklahomans can’t access federal leave. The most common reason is that people don’t work for big enough employers, but another possibility is that they haven’t worked enough hours or time.
Plus, people who do qualify aren’t always able to take unpaid time off. Maybe they’re eligible for 12 weeks, but they can only afford to miss two weeks of pay.
How to comply with FMLA leave requirements
If you’re a covered employer under FMLA, it’s vital to follow the law. If you deny anyone their rightful leave or discriminate against someone for requesting leave, you could be fined and penalized, not to mention face potential lawsuits from employees.
You can also receive penalties if you neglect to notify your employees about leave, or if you don’t distribute the correct forms. Make sure you know exactly what you’re responsible for.
Notification responsibilities
Hang an FMLA poster in your workplace explaining what FMLA leave is and how to qualify. Print it in English and any other primary languages your employees speak.
Give written notice to FMLA-eligible employees explaining how and when to request a leave. The Department of Labor (DOL) has sample notices.
Give written notice to new hires explaining what it takes to qualify for leave.
Paperwork responsibilities
Fill out and distribute the Rights and Responsibilities Notice to any employee who requests leave. You need to do this within five business days. The form covers the reason your employee needs leave, their eligibility, their leave rights, their tentative leave start and end dates, and whether or not they need certification for their leave.
Fill out and distribute the Designation Notice, which confirms that your employee’s leave officially counts as FMLA leave. You need to do this within five business days of your employee returning their requested leave paperwork.
Keep complete records of all leave-related papers. That’s not just FMLA notices and leave certification documents, but your employees’ official requests for leave, pay stubs, timesheets, and employment contracts.
Protection responsibilities
Keep paying your employees’ health insurance premiums while they’re on leave. That’s assuming you already offer health care coverage and pay part of the premium yourself.
Give employees their jobs back after leave. You need to provide the same role if possible, or one comparable in pay, title, responsibilities, location, schedule, and benefits.
How to create a paid leave policy in your workplace
The value of paid leave goes far beyond its effect on individual employees. When people have time and financial resources to care for themselves and their loved ones at critical moments, businesses and economies benefit, too. Job satisfaction and productivity rates go up, employee turnover rates drop, and primary caregivers—whose wages often support their households—stay in the workforce longer.
If you want to provide paid leave in your workplace, you have a couple of options:
Increase the amount of PTO you offer, and give workers the flexibility to use it for parental leave, caregiving leave, or personal medical leave.
Purchase paid family/medical leave insurance from a private insurer and split the premiums with your employees.
When building your paid leave policy, keep these adjectives in mind:
Inclusive: Your policy should include all workers, regardless of their position, seniority, location, gender, or family structure. The leaves you offer should also cover different types of families and situations (for example, parental leave should apply not just to newborn children, but also to children who are adopted, fostered, or recently placed with a new guardian).
Reasonable: Your policy should give workers enough time away from work and enough income replacement to live comfortably. A good baseline to hit is eight to 12 weeks of paid leave with weekly benefits equal to 70% of an employee's usual wages.
Comprehensive: Your policy should be as clear and detailed as possible, with information on qualifying life events, leave eligibility criteria, leave lengths, employee rights and protections, wage replacement, premium contributions, procedures for requesting leave, and clarification on how company leaves intersect with federal leave.
Oklahoma resources for business owners
