Oregon employers now required to give workers paid time off to donate blood

The new law took effect in January

Oregon workers can now use their earned sick time to donate blood. Senate Bill 1108 took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, after Gov. Tina Kotek signed it last May.

The law doesn’t create any new paid time off. It simply adds blood donation to the list of reasons workers can tap into sick hours they’ve already built up.

The donation has to go through a program approved by the American Association of Blood Banks or the American Red Cross.

Employers can ask for advance notice

The law covers the donation itself, not travel time or scheduling.

Employers can require up to 14 days of notice before a worker heads out to give blood, and they can ask for paperwork showing the appointment or confirming the donation happened.

Workers also need at least 90 days on the job before they can use any accrued sick time, including for blood donation. Those rules match the structure Oregon already had in place for other sick leave uses.

Not every worker gets paid leave

Oregon’s existing sick leave law doesn’t cover every worker the same way. Employers with 10 or more workers anywhere in the state must offer paid sick leave.

In Portland, the bar is lower at six workers. People at smaller companies still get protected time off for blood donation, but it might be unpaid.

Under the current rules, workers earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours they work, capped at 40 hours a year.

Bill sailed through the Legislature

State Sen. Lew Frederick, a Democrat from Portland, sponsored the bill. Frederick said the goal was to help tackle the country’s blood shortage.

Lawmakers agreed. The Senate passed it unanimously, 28-0, and the House approved it 44-4.

That kind of support is unusual for employment legislation, but the public health angle gave it broad appeal across both parties.

Blood supply dropped sharply in early 2026

The American Red Cross declared a severe blood shortage in early 2026 after the national supply fell about 35% in a single month.

The Red Cross supplies roughly 40% of the nation’s blood, and the number of donors giving through the organization has dropped about 40% over the past two decades.

Severe winter weather early this year made things worse, forcing hundreds of blood drives across the country to be canceled.

Patients feel the squeeze every day

The Red Cross needs to collect more than 13,000 blood donations and about 3,000 platelet donations every day just to keep up with hospital demand.

The shortage hits hardest for platelets and type O, A-negative, and B-negative blood. When supplies run low, hospitals may have to push back surgeries and other procedures.

Someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion every two seconds, and for trauma patients with major blood loss, every minute of delay raises the risk.

Oregon already had one of the broadest laws

Oregon first required employers to offer sick leave back in 2016, making it the fourth state to pass a mandatory paid sick time law.

Workers could already use those hours for their own illness, a family member’s health needs, medical appointments, domestic violence situations, bereavement, and public health emergencies.

Oregon also stands alone as the only state that lets workers donate their sick leave to a coworker. Blood donation is the newest addition to that list.

Other states handle it differently

Oregon isn’t the first place to address blood donation leave, but it took a different path than most.

Illinois has a standalone law for employers with 51 or more workers that gives eligible employees up to one hour of paid leave every 56 days to donate blood.

San Francisco allows workers to use paid sick leave for bone marrow and organ donations.

No federal law requires any employer to provide paid sick leave or blood donation leave, so protections vary widely depending on where you live.

Employers need to update their policies

Oregon employers should add blood donation to their sick leave policies and post an updated Oregon Sick Time notice where workers can see it.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries enforces the law, and workers who think their employer isn’t following the rules can reach out to the bureau for help.

The law had minimal impact on state and local government spending and no effect on revenue, according to the fiscal analysis.

Law does not add extra time off

The law does not give workers any additional hours beyond what they already earn. It doesn’t cover travel time, scheduling appointments, or recovery after donating.

Employers don’t have to host blood drives or promote donation in any way.

Workers who haven’t built up sick hours yet, or who’ve already used their annual allotment, won’t have paid time available for this purpose. Independent contractors fall outside the law entirely.

Donors can schedule through the Red Cross

Workers can find a blood drive or donation center through the American Red Cross or by calling 1-800-733-2767. Donors generally must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good health.

Some states allow 16-year-olds with parental consent. You’ll need a blood donor card, driver’s license, or two other forms of ID at check-in.

The Red Cross has urged anyone who can safely donate to help restock supplies during the current shortage.

Oregon keeps expanding worker protections

Senate Bill 1108 was one of several employment laws Oregon passed in 2025 that kicked in this year.

Other new rules cover pay stub transparency, age discrimination in hiring, and changes to the state’s paid family leave program.

Oregon has been steadily building out worker protections over the past decade, and the blood donation provision fits into a broader national conversation about using workplace policy to support public health.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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