Oregon’s paid family and medical leave law was signed by Governor Kate Brown on August 9, 2019. Eligible workers will be permitted to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave under the new law beginning January 1, 2023.
Articles About Oregon Labor And Employment Law.
Oregon Joins Growing Number of States Requiring Paid Family and Medical Leave
Just hours before the constitutionally-mandated end of Oregon’s state legislative session (June 30 at midnight), the Oregon Senate voted to pass HB 2005—which will provide paid family and medical leave to eligible employees beginning January 1, 2023. HB 2005 now heads to the desk of Governor Kate Brown, who has already said she intends to sign the bill.
Oregon Passes Paid Family and Medical Leave Law
Oregon has joined a growing number of states to require employers to provide their workers paid family and medical leave.
New Oregon Law Restricts Nondisclosure, Nondisparagement Provisions in Workplace Agreements
A new Oregon law limits employers’ use of nondisclosure or nondisparagement agreements with their employees with respect to employment discrimination or sexual assault.
Oregon’s New Workplace Fairness Act Limits the Use of Nondisclosure Agreements, Requires Written Antiharassment Policies, and Extends the Time for Filing Claims
Oregon just enacted comprehensive legislation that will have a potentially surprising impact on most Oregon workplaces. On June 11, 2019, Governor Kate Brown signed into law Senate Bill 726, also known as the Workplace Fairness Act. The law creates a new unlawful employment practice that prohibits employers from entering into agreements containing nondisclosure, nondisparagement or similar confidentiality provisions. It also requires employers to adopt and disseminate specific written policies and significantly enlarges the period in which an employee may file a claim of discrimination.
Oregon Amends Data Breach Notification Law to Include Vendor Obligations; Expanded Definition of Personal Information
As we recently noted, Washington state amended its data breach notification law on May 7 to expand the definition of “personal information” and shorten the notification deadline (among other changes). Not to be outdone by its sister state to the north, Oregon followed suit shortly thereafter—Senate Bill 684 passed unanimously in both legislative bodies on May 20, and was signed into law by Governor Kate Brown on May 24. The amendments will become effective January 1, 2020.
Oregon Enacts Pregnancy Accommodations Law
Beginning January 1, 2020, Oregon employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees and job applicants who have limitations related to pregnancy, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. The new law applies to employers with at least six employees.
Oregon Supreme Court Holds Employer Not Completely Immune Under Social Host Statute
Oregon’s highest court has held that although the state’s “social host” law protects certain persons from liability related to their actions taken as “hosts,” there is no similar insulation from liability for alleged tortious conduct committed while acting in another role, such as employer. Schutz v. La Costita III, Inc., 364 Or. 536 (March 14, 2019).
Portland, Oregon, Bars Discrimination Against Atheists, Agnostics
An amendment to the civil rights code of Portland, Oregon, extends protections against discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations to atheists, agnostics, and other “non-believers.” Religious facilities are expressly exempt.
Oregon Publishes Final Rule Implementing its Expansive Equal Pay Act, Effective January 1, 2019
A majority of the provisions of Oregon’s Equal Pay Act will go into effect on January 1, 2019. The Act’s ban on salary history inquiries went into effect in October 2017. Beginning 2019, the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) will enforce the Act, including the inquiry ban, and employees and applicants may file claims with BOLI. However, employees and applicants may not pursue private actions against employers for alleged violations of the Act until January 1, 2024.
Oregon’s Pay Equity Law: Bureau of Labor and Industries Issues Permanent Administrative Order and Rules
On November 19, 2018, Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) issued its administrative order and rules implementing the Oregon Equal Pay Act of 2017 (the “Pay Equity Law”), which includes restrictions on salary history inquiries, expands existing remedies available to employees, and provides a safe harbor for employers that have voluntarily assessed their pay practices to identify and eliminate discriminatory pay practices.1 The administrative rules, summarized below, provide guidance on a number of issues arising under the Pay Equity Law, which takes effect on January 1, 2019.
Leading By Example: Oregon State Government Conducts Expansive Internal Pay Equity Analysis
Oregon’s state government, ahead of the January 1, 2019, effective date of the state Equal Pay Act (EPA), is conducting an expansive, behind-the-scenes pay equity analysis of its departments to identify and remedy any potential pay disparities between male and female employees.
Oregon Enacts Tougher Data Breach Notification Law
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill last month toughening the state’s already stringent data breach notification law, which will take effect on June 2, 2018. The most significant change for companies to be aware of is the requirement that affected consumers be notified no later than 45 days following discovery of a breach. Additionally, if a company offers free credit monitoring or identity theft protection services to the affected consumers, the company may not require the consumers to provide a credit or debit card number in order to receive such services.
Oregon Enacts New Law Impacting Overtime and Maximum Hour Limits for Manufacturers
A new Oregon law clarifies Oregon’s daily and weekly overtime laws and sets new maximum-hour limits for certain Oregon employers. The new statute, which Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed on August 8, 2017, requires most employers in the manufacturing sector to pay employees the greater of daily or weekly overtime if an employee works more than 10 hours in a single day and more than 40 hours total in the course of a single workweek. The law also sets a firm 55-hour weekly limit for most manufacturing-sector employees.
New Oregon Law Imposes Scheduling and Working Hours Obligations on Employers
A new Oregon statute will require certain large employers to provide their Oregon employees with advance notice of their work schedules. The notice period will initially be 7 days starting next year before increasing to 14 days in 2020. “Predictive scheduling” requirements have been considered by legislatures in several states in recent years, and a number of cities have adopted predictive scheduling ordinances, but Oregon’s is the first to actually become a statewide law.