Relating to exposure to bodily fluids.

Juvenile justice workers gain testing access

Oregon Youth Authority and county juvenile department employees can now ask a circuit court to order disease testing after workplace exposure. The exposure must involve direct contact with blood, bodily fluids, or other material capable of spreading a communicable disease. Workers must first make a good-faith effort to get voluntary consent, including trying to locate or contact the person. The court must hold a hearing within three judicial days after receiving the petition. When petition requirements are met and probable cause supports significant exposure, it must order testing within four judicial days of receipt. There is no filing fee, and the worker’s employer pays court-ordered testing costs. Results are confidential and shared only with the worker’s designated medical professional, the Oregon Health Authority, and the person tested. Test samples cannot be used for civil or criminal investigations or as evidence, and are kept only long enough to confirm results.