Title 51, Labor and Employment; Unlawful Discrimination

(1) Subject to ORS 659A.206, except as provided in ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224, it is an unlawful employment practice for any public or nonprofit employer to: (a) Prohibit any employee from discussing, either specifically or generally with any member of the Legislative Assembly, leg…

ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224 are not intended to: (1) Prohibit a supervisor or appointing authority from requiring that an employee inform the supervisor or appointing authority as to official requests for information to the agency or subdivision or the substance of testimony made, o…

ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224 are not intended to: (1) Allow disclosure of records exempt from disclosure except as provided in ORS 192.338, 192.345 and 192.355. (2) Prevent public employers from prohibiting employee disclosure of information of an advisory nature to the extent that i…

(1) An employee’s good faith and objectively reasonable belief of a violation of federal, state or local law, rule or regulation by the employer shall be an affirmative defense to a civil or criminal charge related to the disclosure by the employee of lawfully accessed informatio…

(1) In order to protect the safety of the citizens of this state, it is the policy of this state that all public employers and their employees cooperate with law enforcement officials in the apprehension of persons subject to a felony or misdemeanor warrant for arrest. (2) Notwit…

The remedies provided for violations of ORS 659A.203 and 659A.218 under this chapter are in addition to any appeal proceeding available under ORS 240.560 for a state employee or under any comparable provisions for employees of political subdivisions. [Formerly 659.530]

(1) The identity of the employee who discloses any of the following shall not be disclosed by a public employer without the written consent of the employee during any investigation of the information provided by the employee, relating to: (a) Matters described in ORS 659A.203 (1)…

(1) The Bureau of Labor and Industries shall adopt a uniform standards and procedures manual that provides guidelines for implementing ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224. (2) The bureau shall make the manual available to the public on the bureau’s website. (3) The manual must include, but …

(1) The Bureau of Labor and Industries, in consultation and cooperation with the agencies described in subsection (2) of this section, shall collect and compile information and data relating to disclosures of information made under ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224. The information and da…

(1) The Bureau of Labor and Industries by rule shall ensure that the requirements of ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224 are applied uniformly to all public employers. Each public employer may adopt rules, consistent with Bureau of Labor and Industries rules, that apply to that public emplo…

ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224 shall be known as the Whistleblower Law. [Formerly 659.545] (Reports of Violations of Election Laws)

(1) In addition to the conduct prohibited in ORS 659A.199, it is an unlawful employment practice for a person to discriminate or retaliate against another person with respect to hire or tenure, compensation or other terms, conditions or privileges of employment for the reason tha…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge, demote, suspend or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee with regard to promotion, compensation or other terms, conditions or privileges of employment for the reason that the employee ha…

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge, demote, suspend or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee with regard to promotion, compensation or other terms, conditions or privileges of employment for the reason that the employee has in…

It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge, demote, suspend or in any manner discriminate against an employee with regard to promotion, compensation or other terms, conditions or privileges of employment solely for the reason that the employee has testifie…

(1) For purposes of ORS 659A.250 to 659A.262, “access” means ingress to and egress from residential areas which are concentrated in a central location. It shall not include: (a) The right to enter the individual residences of employees unless a resident of the household consents …

(1) Employers shall not restrict access by authorized persons or invited persons to any housing owned, rented or in any manner controlled by the employer where employees are residing. Authorized persons or invited persons must announce their presence on the premises upon request.…

Employers may adopt reasonable rules and regulations concerning the use and occupancy of such housing including hours of access which must be posted in a conspicuous place at least three days prior to enforcement. Such rules shall be enforceable as to employees, invited persons a…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to expel or evict from housing referred to in ORS 659A.250 to 659A.262 or to discharge, demote, suspend from employment or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee or any member of the employee’s h…

(1) In the event that any person claiming to be an authorized or invited person is denied access to housing, the person may apply to any magistrate having jurisdiction to issue warrants, for an order authorizing the person to gain access to the housing. (2) The application pursua…

As used in ORS 659A.270 to 659A.285: (1) “Covered employer” means an employer who employs six or more individuals in the State of Oregon for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the year in which an eligible employee takes leave to address domestic vio…

Except as provided in ORS 659A.275, a covered employer shall allow an eligible employee to take reasonable leave from employment for any of the following purposes: (1) To seek legal or law enforcement assistance or remedies to ensure the health and safety of the employee or the e…

(1) As used in this section, “undue hardship” means a significant difficulty and expense to a covered employer’s business and includes consideration of the size of the employer’s business and the employer’s critical need for the eligible employee. (2) A covered employer may limit…

It is an unlawful employment practice for a covered employer to deny leave to an eligible employee or to discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee with regard to promotion, compensation or other terms, conditi…

Every covered employer shall keep summaries of ORS 659A.270 to 659A.285 and summaries of all rules promulgated by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries for the enforcement of ORS 659A.270 to 659A.285 posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the pr…

(1) An eligible employee shall give the covered employer reasonable advance notice of the employee’s intention to take leave for the purposes identified in ORS 659A.272, unless giving the advance notice is not feasible. (2) The covered employer may require the eligible employee t…

(1) As used in this section, “public employer” means the State of Oregon. (2)(a) Notwithstanding ORS 659A.285, an eligible employee of the public employer who is a victim of domestic violence, a victim of harassment, a victim of sexual assault, a victim of bias or a victim of sta…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, and unless otherwise provided by the terms of an agreement between the eligible employee and the covered employer, a collective bargaining agreement or an employer policy, a covered employer is not required to gra…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Reasonable safety accommodation” may include, but is not limited to, a transfer, reassignment, modified schedule, use of available paid leave from employment, unpaid leave from employment, changed work telephone number, changed work station, inst…

(1) Except as provided in this section, it is an unlawful employment practice for any employer to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee or prospective employee to any breathalyzer test, polygraph examination, psychological stress test, genetic test or brain-wave test. (2)…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to seek to obtain, to obtain or to use genetic information of an employee or a prospective employee, or of a blood relative of the employee or prospective employee, to distinguish between or discriminate against or restric…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer to require an employee, as a condition of continuation of employment, to pay the cost of any medical examination or the cost of furnishing any health certificate. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, it is …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer solely because another member of an individual’s family works or has worked for that employer to: (a) Refuse to hire or employ an individual; (b) Bar or discharge from …

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to deny to grant already accrued paid leaves of absence to an employee who seeks to undergo a medical procedure to donate bone marrow. The total length of the leaves shall be determined by the employee, but shall not excee…

(1) As used in this section, “state board or commission” means a state board or commission referred to in ORS 292.495. (2) It is an unlawful employment practice if an employer discharges, threatens to discharge, intimidates or coerces any employee by reason of the employee’s serv…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer to require, as a condition of employment, that any employee or prospective employee refrain from using lawful tobacco products during nonworking hours, except when the restriction relates to a bona fide occupational requi…

(1) If an employer requires an applicant or employee to have an academic degree from a post-secondary institution to qualify for a position, but does not require a degree with a specific title, it is an unlawful employment practice for the employer to refuse to hire or promote or…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to obtain or use for employment purposes information contained in the credit history of an applicant for employment or an employee, or to refuse to hire, discharge, dem…

It is not an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency or labor organization to observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide employee benefit plan such as a retirement, pension or insurance plan, which is not a subterfuge to evade the p…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to: (a) Require or request an employee or an applicant for employment to establish or maintain a personal social media account, or to disclose or to provide access through the employee’s or applicant’s user name and passwo…

(1) As used in this section, “employer” means: (a) An adjudicated youth foster home as defined in ORS 420.888; (b) An adult foster home as defined in ORS 443.705; (c) A child care provider as defined in ORS 329A.700; (d) A child-caring agency as defined in ORS 418.205; (e) A chil…

(1) As used in this section, “Real ID” has the meaning given that term in ORS 807.450. (2) A person may not discriminate against an individual because the individual holds or presents a form of government issued identification other than a Real ID. (3) An individual claiming to b…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to: (a) Require, as a condition for employment or continuation of employment, an employee or prospective employee to possess or present a valid driver license unless the ability to legally drive is an essential function of…

(1) An intern is considered to be in an employment relationship with an employer for the purposes of the employee protections provided under ORS 659A.030, 659A.082, 659A.109, 659A.112, 659A.136, 659A.142, 659A.199, 659A.230, 659A.233, 659A.236, 659A.290, 659A.300, 659A.303, 659A.…

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge, demote or suspend, or to discriminate or retaliate against, an employee with regard to promotion, compensation or other terms, conditions or privileges of employment because the employee has: (a) Inquired abo…

It is an unlawful practice under ORS chapter 659A for an employer or prospective employer to seek the salary history of an applicant or employee from the applicant or employee or a current or former employer of the applicant or employee. This section is not intended to prevent an…

(1) It is an unlawful practice for an employer to exclude an applicant from an initial interview solely because of a past criminal conviction. (2) An employer excludes an applicant from an initial interview if the employer: (a) Requires an applicant to disclose on an employment a…

ORS 659A.360 is subject to enforcement by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries as provided in ORS 659A.820 to 659A.865. [2015 c.559 §2] Note: See note under 659A.360. WORKPLACE FAIRNESS

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) or (4) of this subsection, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to enter into an agreement with a former, current or prospective employee, as a condition of employment, continued employment, promotion, compensation or the…

(1) Every employer in this state shall adopt a written policy containing procedures and practices for the reduction and prevention of discrimination prohibited by ORS 659A.030, including sexual assault, as defined in ORS 659A.370, and discrimination prohibited by ORS 659A.082 and…