Many working parents do not take advantage of Oregon leave law
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 12:46 PM PST
PORTLAND (AP) — Though Oregon has one of the nation’s most generous sick child leave laws in the U.S., many working parents don’t use it.
Under the Oregon Family Leave Act, parents may stay home with a sick child — unpaid — without losing their job. And beginning Jan. 1, eligible workers may use their own paid sick leave for family leave, including caring for a sick child.
Small firms are exempt from the law, and other firms can require that workers use all accrued paid leave first.
But many parents simply can’t afford to lose a day’s pay or are afraid to be seen as a problem employee.
‘‘It’s gut-wrenching for parents,’’ says Judi Gilles, program manager at Fruit & Flower Childcare Center in Northwest Portland. ‘‘You feel like whatever decision you make, you let someone down, your boss, your co-workers or your child.’’
By law, child care centers can’t accept a child with a 100-degree fever, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, severe cough and other illness.
Some of them, however, feel the pressure to accept sick children because they know the pressure parents are under.
Even a healthy child can affect a parent’s work. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends seven well-baby checks the first year alone.
As protection from their mother’s immune system diminishes, babies get sick twice as often as older children and adults.
