Title 51, Labor and Employment; Unlawful Discrimination

It is declared to be the public policy of Oregon that the available workforce should be utilized to the fullest extent possible. To this end, the abilities of an individual, and not any arbitrary standards that discriminate against an individual solely because of age, should be t…

(1) To achieve the public policy of the State of Oregon for persons in the state to attain employment and advancement without discrimination because of race, religion, color, sex, marital status, national origin, disability or age, every state agency shall be required to include …

In carrying out the policy of affirmative action, every state agency shall include in its affirmative action reports under ORS 659A.012 information concerning its awards of construction, service and personal service contracts awarded to minority businesses. [Formerly 659.027] UNL…

For purposes of ORS 659A.030, the phrase “because of sex” includes, but is not limited to, because of pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions or occurrences. An individual affected by the individual’s pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions or occurrences…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice: (a) For an employer, because of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status or age if the individual is 18 years of age or older, or because of the race, color, religio…

(1) An employer violates ORS 659A.030 if: (a) The employer does not allow an employee to use vacation leave, or other leave available to the employee, for the purpose of allowing the employee to engage in the religious observance or practices of the employee; and (b) Reasonably a…

ORS 659A.033 shall be known and may be cited as the “Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act.” [2009 c.744 §5] Note: 659A.036 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 659A or any series therein by legislative action. See P…

It is an unlawful employment practice for any person acting on behalf of an employer to discriminate against a worker with respect to hire or tenure or any term or condition of employment because the worker has: (1) Applied for or inquired about benefits under ORS chapter 656; (2…

(1) A worker who has sustained a compensable injury shall be reinstated by the worker’s employer to the worker’s former position of employment upon demand for such reinstatement, if the position exists and is available and the worker is not disabled from performing the duties of …

(1) A worker who has sustained a compensable injury and is disabled from performing the duties of the worker’s former regular employment shall, upon demand, be reemployed by the worker’s employer at employment which is available and suitable. (2) A certificate of the worker’s att…

The rights of reinstatement afforded by ORS 659A.043 and 659A.046 shall not be forfeited if the worker refuses to return to the worker’s regular or other offered employment without release to such employment by the worker’s attending physician or a nurse practitioner authorized t…

(1) In addition to the rights provided to injured workers under ORS 659A.043 and 659A.046, if all permanent restrictions of an injured worker are known and: (a) The injured worker was employed at the time of injury by any agency in the legislative department of the government of …

As used in ORS 659A.060 to 659A.069, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Group health benefits” means that form of health benefits provided by the State of Oregon to cover groups of employees, with or without one or more members of their families or one or more dependents…

(1) The State of Oregon shall cause group health benefits to continue in effect with respect to that worker and any covered dependents or family members by timely payment of the premium that includes the contribution due from the state under the applicable benefit plan, subject t…

If the State of Oregon’s obligation to continue paying premiums for health benefits under ORS 659A.063 expires or terminates, the worker may continue coverage by paying the entire premium pursuant to ORS 743B.342. [Formerly 659.460]

It is an unlawful employment practice for the State of Oregon to discriminate against a worker with respect to hire or tenure or any term or condition of employment because the worker has applied for benefits or invoked or utilized the procedures provided for in ORS 659A.060 to 6…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Service” means the performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service that may involve active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty for training, full-time duty in the National…

(1) An employee shall be granted a leave of absence by the employer of the employee to perform active state service if: (a) The employee is a member of the organized militia of this state and is called into active service of the state under ORS 399.065 or 399.075. (b) The employe…

(1) Any violation of ORS 659A.086 (1) to (3) by an employer is an unlawful employment practice. (2) Complaints alleging a violation of ORS 659A.086 (1) to (3) may be filed by employees with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries in the manner provided by ORS 659A.…

(1) As used in this section, “uniformed service” means the Armed Forces of the United States, the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard when the member is engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty for training or full-time National Guard duty, the commissioned co…

As used in ORS 659A.090 to 659A.099: (1) Notwithstanding ORS 659A.001, “employee” means an individual who performs services for compensation for an employer for an average of at least 20 hours per week. “Employee” includes all individuals employed at any site owned or operated by…

(1) During a period of military conflict, an employee who is a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Guard or the military reserve forces of the United States who has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty or who has been de…

It is an unlawful practice for an employer to: (1) Deny military family leave to an employee who is entitled to such leave under ORS 659A.090 to 659A.099; or (2) Retaliate or in any way discriminate against an individual with respect to hire or tenure or any other term or conditi…

ORS 659A.090 to 659A.099 may be cited as the Oregon Military Family Leave Act. [2009 c.559 §2]

(1) It is declared to be the public policy of Oregon to guarantee individuals the fullest possible participation in the social and economic life of the state, to engage in remunerative employment, to use and enjoy places of public accommodation, resort or amusement, to participat…

(1) An individual has a disability for the purposes of ORS 659A.103 to 659A.145 if the individual meets any one of the following criteria: (a) The individual has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual. (b) The…

The requirements of ORS 659A.112 to 659A.139 apply only to employers who employ six or more persons. The requirements of ORS 659A.112 to 659A.139 do not apply to the Oregon National Guard. [2001 c.621 §23; 2011 c.210 §1]

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against an individual with respect to hire or tenure or any term or condition of employment because the individual has applied for benefits or invoked or used the procedures provided for in ORS 659A.103 to 659A…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer to refuse to hire, employ or promote, to bar or discharge from employment or to discriminate in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment on the basis of disability. (2) An employer violates subsect…

For the purposes of ORS 659A.112, an individual is qualified for a position if the individual, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the position. For the purpose of determining the essential functions of the position, due consideration …

(1) For the purposes of ORS 659A.112, reasonable accommodation may include: (a) Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. (b) Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules or reassignment to a vacant …

(1) For the purposes of ORS 659A.112, an accommodation imposes an undue hardship on the operation of the business of the employer if the accommodation requires significant difficulty or expense. (2) For the purpose of determining whether an accommodation requires significant diff…

As used in this section and ORS 659A.124, 659A.127 and 659A.130: (1) “Drug” means a controlled substance, as classified in schedules I through V of section 202 of the federal Controlled Substances Act, as amended, and as modified under ORS 475.035. (2) “Illegal use of drugs” mean…

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the protections of ORS 659A.112 do not apply to any job applicant or employee who is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs if the employer takes action based on that conduct. (2) The protections of ORS 659A…

ORS 659A.112 to 659A.139 do not affect the ability of an employer to do any of the following: (1) An employer may prohibit the transfer, offering, sale, purchase or illegal use of drugs at the workplace by any employee. An employer may prohibit possession of drugs except for drug…

For the purposes of ORS 659A.112 to 659A.139, the following conditions are not physical or mental impairments, and an individual with one or more of the following conditions does not have a disability for the purposes of ORS 659A.112 to 659A.139 solely by reason of that condition…

(1) Except as provided in this section, an employer violates ORS 659A.112 if the employer conducts a medical examination of a job applicant, makes inquiries of a job applicant as to whether the applicant has a disability or makes inquiries as to the nature or severity of any disa…

(1) Except as provided in this section, an employer may not require that an employee submit to a medical examination, may not make inquiries of an employee as to whether the employee has a disability, and may not make inquiries of an employee as to the nature or severity of any d…

(1) ORS 659A.103 to 659A.144 shall be construed to the extent possible in a manner that is consistent with any similar provisions of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended by the federal ADA Amendments Act of 2008 and as otherwise amended. (2) The determi…

(1) In addition to and not in lieu of any other penalty provided by state law, a person with a disability who uses an assistance animal or the owner of an assistance animal may bring an action for economic and noneconomic damages against any person who steals or, without provocat…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Health care facility” has the meaning given that term in ORS 442.015. (b) “Health professional regulatory board” has the meaning given that term in ORS 676.160. (c) “Medical resources” includes but is not limited to: (A) Medical devices or equipm…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Assistance animal” means a dog or other animal designated by administrative rule that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual. (b) “Assistance animal trainee” means an animal that is undergoing a…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Lift system” means a system that: (A) Is used to transfer a person to a bed, toilet, shower or bathtub, but does not provide the person with independent mobility; (B) May be a manual lift, an electronic lift or a lift that uses a track system; an…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Dwelling” has the meaning given that term in ORS 659A.421. (b) “Purchaser” has the meaning given that term in ORS 659A.421. (2) A person may not discriminate because of a disability of a purchaser, a disability of an individual residing in or int…

For purposes of ORS 659A.147, reasonable accommodation may include, but need not be limited to: (1) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; (2) More frequent or longer break periods or periodic rest; (3) Assistance with manual labor; or (4) Modification of work sched…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, because of known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition, including but not limited to lactation, of a job applicant or an employee, to: (a) Deny employment opportunities to an applican…