Articles Discussing General Topics In Oregon Labor & Employment Law.

More than four years since the passage of Oregon’s Paid Family Medical Leave Act into law, paid leave benefits will finally be available to Oregon employees starting September 3, 2023.  Applications for benefits, toolkits and quick start guides are all now available online at paidleave.oregon.gov.  Here is what employers need

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek recently signed into law a bill that will extend civil rights, discrimination, and harassment workplace protections to participants in registered apprenticeship programs and certain private-sector on-the-job training programs.1 The law takes effect January 1, 2024.

On July 18, 2023, Oregon’s Governor signed Senate Bill 619 which enacts Oregon’s comprehensive consumer data privacy statute. Oregon joins California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia in enacting a comprehensive consumer privacy law. Most of the sections of the law are scheduled to take effect on July 1,

Recently enacted Oregon Senate Bill (SB) 184 soon will require employers to include independent contractors in their child support reporting requirements to the Oregon Division of Child Support of the Department of Justice. Currently, the reporting requirements apply only to an employer’s employees but, for all new engagements or re-engagements

On June 7, 2023, Governor Tina Kotek signed into law Senate Bill 999, a measure that will more closely align certain provisions of Paid Leave Oregon with the Oregon Family Leave Act.

In anticipation of Paid Leave Oregon, a new paid family leave benefit for Oregon employees, the Oregon legislature recently passed a bill that creates new entitlements for Oregon employees and aligns existing law with the forthcoming paid leave benefit.  Senate Bill 999 (2023) revises the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA)

With the recent passage of Senate Bill 592, the Oregon Legislature has dramatically augmented the range of civil penalties on employers who violate Oregon Safe Employment laws. Previously, Oregon law imposed only the minimum civil penalties prescribed under the federal OSHA. Effective May 24, 2023, the minimum penalty for a

Massive wildfires in Canada recently covered the northeast United States in a plume of smoke. On June 8, 2023, New York City’s Air Quality Index – the Environmental Protection Agency’s index for measuring and reporting air quality – reached a very hazardous level of 460 AQI. New York City’s

On May 24, 2023, Governor Tina Kotek signed into law legislation raising the maximum penalties for workplace fatality–related citations in Oregon far above federal limits. The law took effect immediately.

SB 592, if enacted, would create significant changes to the Oregon Safe Employment Act including:

Allowing for “comprehensive inspection of any place of employment as deemed necessary by the department based upon the prior violation history of the place of employment regarding any state occupational safety or health law,

Effective April 3, 2023, Oregon OSHA suspended its rules addressing the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and Amended Work Clothing Rules via Oregon OSHA Administrative Order 1-2023.

The COVID-19 rules have been temporarily suspended as an interim measure until Oregon OSHA implements the permanent rulemaking process to fully repeal the

Oregon employers with collective bargaining agreements have until March 31, 2023, to begin deducting employee contributions to Paid Leave Oregon, the Paid Leave Oregon Advisory Committee clarified on March 1, 2023.

The Oregon Legislature, in response to concerns that the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) penalties were not sufficient, introduced legislation (Senate Bill (SB) 592) that would significantly increase the amounts of civil penalties for violations and allow Oregon OSHA to conduct in-depth, wall-to-wall inspections under certain circumstances.

On December 15, 2022, the Oregon Supreme Court gave employers important clarity regarding the compensability of time spent in post-shift security screenings.

Oregon’s Paid Family Leave program commences on January 1, 2023.  As an initial step, most Oregon employers must alert employees about the program and begin paying into the state insurance plan.  The law requires employers post the Oregon Employment Department’s model notice at the worksite and distribute the same notice