Intro to Oregon Labor Laws

Governor Kotek signed SB 1515 into law, which will change the administration of employee leaves for baby bonding and for a serious health condition.  Originally protected under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), effective July 1, 2024, these leaves will be covered exclusively by the Paid Leave Oregon (PLO). Qualifying absences such as for sick child leave, pregnancy or birth-related conditions, and bereavement, will remain covered by OFLA. The changes also clarify interactions between OFLA, PLO, and employer-provided paid time off (PTO), entitling employees on PLO leave to use any employer-offered paid leave accruals to supplement their PLO benefits up to the employees’ full wage replacement. Employers are advised to consult with legal counsel to ensure their policies are updated in accordance with these changes.

In Oregon, benefits under the Paid Leave Oregon program begin for eligible employees. Under this program, eligible employees may be entitled to up to 14 weeks of paid, job-protected leave depending on the qualifying event. More on eligibility and requirements can be found here.

Governor Brown signed a new law that amends the Oregon Equality Act. The amendment expands the definition of race to specifically include “physical characteristics historically associated with race”, including protective hairstyles and hair type and texture. This adds Oregon to the growing list of states that explicitly prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals based on certain hairstyles.

On January 12, 2024, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) issued final rules to clarify the process for implementing Paid Leave Oregon. The new regulations address components such as benefits administration, eligibility criteria, and more.

Paid Leave Oregon went into effect on January 1, 2023, with employees first able to apply for benefits on September 3, 2023, and applies to employers that have at least one employee in Oregon.

Under the new regulations, verification criteria for safe leave purposes due to bias crimes have been amended, factors to determine a family member’s “affinity status” have been established, and job protection rights and health insurance premium repayments have been clarified, among other updates. 

Employers should review the linked article for additional information on the clarifications of Paid Leave Oregon and update their leave policies accordingly.

Oregon has amended its non-compete statute and the changes apply to all non-compete agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2022. Among the changes to further limit enforceable agreements are a reduced maximum agreement length of 12 months and a new minimum earnings requirement. As of January 1, the employee’s salary and commissions must exceed $100,533 in order for a non-compete agreement to be enforceable and this threshold will be adjusted annually.

Oregon has updated its Family Leave Act (OFLA) in several ways. The law has been amended to establish the circumstances under which a reemployed or returning employee is eligible for OFLA based on their previous employment with the company. The new law also provides more lenient eligibility requirements to take qualifying OFLA leave during a declared public health emergency and expands the eligible use of leave to include caring for a child “who requires home care due to the closure of the child’s school or child care provider as a result of a public health emergency”.