Oregon’s paid family, medical leave program sees more applications than expected

Oregon’s new paid family and medical leave program is seeing early signs of greater-than-anticipated demand, while money collected to fund the benefits is slightly coming up short. Preliminary data suggest applicants are requesting more leave time than forecast, potentially incurring greater costs. In contrast, contributions collected from both employers and employees seem to be slightly trailing expectations. The program, which reached a milestone Sunday as it began to offer benefits, has received over 11,300 applications as of Tuesday, according to data shared this week with its advisory committee. The majority...