Here's what you should know.
3.19.2020
Families First Coronavirus Response Act: What Employers Need to Know
On March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the first version of HR 6201 (the “Families First Act”), an emergency relief bill with paid FMLA and paid sick leave benefits for employees experiencing employment loss due to the COVID-19…
3.19.2020
Oregon Employers: Remember Your Employee Leave Obligations as COVID-19 Spreads - Update
On March 18, 2020, BOLI adopted an emergency rule expanding the reasons for which an employee can take OFLA protected leave. BOLI expanded the definition of sick child leave to include “absence to care for an employee’s child whose school or place of…
3.18.2020
Oregon Employers: Remember Your Employee Leave Obligations as COVID-19 Spreads
As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Oregon continues to rise, employers must remain particularly mindful of their various statutory obligations to provide protected leave and benefits.
3.16.2020
Potential Expansion of FMLA Protection in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
We are endeavoring to keep you up-to-date on developments from COVID-19 impacting the workplace. In response to the pandemic, the U.S. House has passed a bill that would provide for paid leave and would expand protection under the Family and Medical…
2.26.2020
Oregon Legislation to Prohibit Hair-Based Discrimination
It appears Oregon will be joining the wave of states enacting laws against hair-based discrimination. House Bill 4107 would amend antidiscrimination statutes in Oregon to include discrimination based on hairstyle.
1.24.2020
New Oregon Employment Laws for 2020
The Oregon legislature has been busy. A number of new laws affecting Oregon employers go into effect in 2020
1.21.2020
Department of Labor Announces Final Rule on Joint Employer Liability
The United States Department of Labor issued its Final Rule on Joint Employer Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new Rule, which will become effective March 16, 2020, is a departure from the legal interpretation adopted by the Obama…
9.24.2019
DOL Increases Salary Basis Test for Exempt Workers
After five years of fits and starts — which we covered here, here, here, and here — the federal Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized its regulations related to the salary basis test for the so-called white collar exemptions to overtime. Effective…
9.20.2019
California Independent Contractor Statute
The topic of independent contractors has been at the forefront of late, with both the Department of Labor and the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries taking a keen interest in reviewing independent contractor relationships and enforcing wage and…
9.11.2019
3 New Employment-Related Laws in Oregon Impacting Cannabis Employers
New employment-related laws reflect a growing tolerance for an individual’s choices regarding consumption of cannabis and marijuana outside of the workplace. Nevada, for example, was the first state to pass a law that prohibits employers (with a…
6.20.2019
Oregon's Workplace Fairness Act
The landscape of laws regulating the employment relationship in Oregon seems to be constantly changing. Another big change occurred with the enactment of the Oregon Workplace Fairness Act.
6.4.2019
New Requirement for Noncompetition Agreements in Oregon
The Oregon legislature has added a new requirement for employers to enforce noncompetition agreements against their employees.
5.28.2019
Washington State to Restrict Noncompetition Agreements
Nationwide there has been continued hostility toward noncompetition agreements for employees. A noncompetition agreement is an agreement entered into by an employee by which the employee (during employment and after) agrees not to compete with the…
5.8.2019
New Wage Reporting Obligations for Large Employers Delayed
The ruling in the case required the Office of Management and Budget to grant a three-year approval of a revised EEO-1 form that would add new equal employment opportunity information to what the EEOC already collected from employers.
4.26.2019
Lights Out: Ambiguous Arbitration Agreement Cannot Compel Class Arbitration
Employers' use of arbitration agreements continues to gain popularity.
4.4.2019
Employer May Be Liable for Employee's Drunk Driving Accident Following After-Work Happy Hour
On March 14, 2019, the Oregon Supreme Court considered whether the immunity granted to social hosts from suits for injuries sustained by patrons or guests after voluntarily consuming alcohol under ORS 471.565(1) also bars suit against an employer or…
3.28.2019
Department of Labor Again Seeks to Increase the Minimum Salary for Exempt Workers
Earlier this month, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks — again — to raise the minimum salary threshold for employees classified as exempt pursuant to one of the so-called "white collar…
3.18.2019
Large Employers Have New Wage Reporting Obligations to the EEOC
A new decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has reinstated a requirement instituted by the EEOC in the last year of the Obama Administration for employers to report pay data. On July 14, 2016, the EEOC asked the Office of…
3.13.2019
Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave - Legislation Introduced
As we predicted in an earlier article, the Oregon Legislature has introduced a bill (House Bill 3031) to provide paid family and medical leave for all Oregon employees. If passed, the Bill would enact the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Equity Act…
1.23.2019
Are You Ready for Paid Family and Medical Leave in Oregon?
There are strong indications out of Salem that the upcoming session of the Oregon Legislature will see a bill regarding paid family and medical leave. The contours of such a bill are hazy and there is a lot we don’t know about how the leave would be…