Articles Discussing General Topics In Oregon Labor & Employment Law.

To be exempt from collecting and remitting contribution payments beginning on January 1, 2023 to Paid Leave Oregon, Oregon’s new paid family medical leave program, employers must submit by November 30, 2022 either an Equivalent Plan Application that meets the requirements for Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) covering

The implementation date for Paid Leave Oregon is rapidly approaching, with contributions beginning on January 1, 2023. Although some details are still being finalized, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) has issued a model notice poster for employers to inform employees about some of the basics of Paid Leave Oregon.

Oregon’s paid family and medical leave insurance program, known as Paid Leave Oregon, or PLO, goes into effect on January 1, 2023, but employers may want to start preparing for and understanding the new law now.

On July 22, 2022 and August 22, 2022, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) published its latest rules governing Oregon’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) program.  The PFMLI program will be funded by employer and employee contributions in the form of payroll deductions beginning January 1, 2023

On September 28, 2022, amendments to Oregon’s Equal Pay Act excluding hiring and retention bonuses from the definition of “compensation” are set to expire.

On July 8, 2022, in Gist v. ZoAn Management, Inc., the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the trial court and court of appeals granting the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration.  The court concluded that because nothing in the arbitration agreement prohibited the plaintiff from being awarded any

With summer arriving and temperatures starting to rise, Oregon employers should familiarize themselves with the new Oregon OSHA Heat Illness Prevention standard (OAR 437-002-0156) that comes into effect on June 15, 2022.

Covered Employers

The new standard applies to workplaces when an employee is performing work activities in any environment

On May 9 and 10, 2022, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA) adopted final rules on heat illness and wildfire smoke.

After becoming the first state to ban real estate “love letters,” Oregon’s novel law has been found to violate the First Amendment and enjoined from enforcement by a federal Court in Oregon. 

On March 21, 2022, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) adopted a permanent rule, effective April 1, 2022, that expands the reasons employees can use leave under Oregon’s paid sick and safe leave law during a public health emergency.

Recently the Oregon legislature passed, and Governor Kate Brown signed, Senate Bill (SB) 1513, revising the Beaver State’s overtime rules for bakers. In addition, the legislature passed House Bill (HB) 4002, revamping the overtime entitlements for farmworkers. That bill is before Governor Brown, who is expected to sign it. As

The Oregon legislature has passed amendments to the Workplace Fairness Act clarifying that workplace agreements with a release of claims cannot include confidentiality or nondisparagement provisions, among other clarifications and changes.

Last year, the Oregon legislature temporarily amended Oregon’s Equal Pay Act to exempt vaccine incentives and hiring and retention bonuses from pay equity considerations, as reported here.  The temporary amendments were scheduled to expire March 1, 2022.  More recently, the legislature extended the expiration date for the amendments.  SB 1514

Oregon employers may want to be aware that on March 7, 2022, Governor Kate Brown signed into law amendments to the state’s Equal Pay Act detailed in Senate Bill (SB) 1514. As a result, Oregon employers may offer vaccine incentives, hiring bonuses, and retention bonuses until 180 days after the