The 2021 Oregon Legislative session has come to a close and there are a few items that require action by Human Resources in specific industries, for specific professions, or in all organizations. Below are the highlights. If you would like a more detailed overview and list of action items, please join us on August 25th or September 7th for a live webinar.

HB 2168 Establishment of state holiday; Add Juneteenth as a state holiday.

HB 2231 Re-employment following voluntary overseas and domestic service; Exempts time spent in voluntary service overseas and domestic voluntary service responding to a declared emergency or disaster from the five-year limit on reemployment rights.

HB 2420 Extended complaint timeline for filing Health & Safety retaliation and discrimination; Extends from 90 days to one year the timeline to file a complaint with the Bureau of Labor and Industries alleging retaliation or discrimination for reporting an unlawful practice or exercising rights relating to safety and health in the workplace.

HB 2474 Oregon Family Leave Act Eligibility; Expands eligibility for protected leave under Oregon Family Leave Act to all employees of covered employer during public health emergency unless employee was employed for fewer than 30 days prior to commencing leave or worked average of less than 25 hours per week in 30 days prior to commencing leave.  

HB 2818 Temporary Exemptions from Pay Equity; for vaccine incentives, hiring bonuses and retention bonuses and sunsets hiring bonus exemption on March 1, 2022.

HB 2935 Discrimination; Prohibits discrimination by including physical characteristics including hair type, texture, and style within the definition of race in school discrimination policies, interscholastic organization activities, and in unlawful employment practices, and prohibits school or employer dress codes or policies from disproportionately impacting members of a protected class.

HB 3041 Gender Identity; Adds "gender identity" to all statutes that reference "sexual orientation" and expands certain protections to include gender identity relating to real property.

HB 3047 Disclosure of private information; Creates a civil cause of action for the improper disclosure of private information (doxing).

HB 3178 Unemployment Insurance Eligibility; Removes condition, to be deemed “unemployed,” that an individual’s weekly remuneration for part-time work must be less than their weekly unemployment insurance benefit amount between the measure's effective date and January 2, 2022. Restores condition for weeks beginning on or after January 2, 2022.

HB 3284 Covid -19 personal data; Prohibits covered entities (person that collects, uses or discloses personal health data or that develops or operates a website, web application, mobile application, mobile operating system feature or other electronic method by means of which the person may collect, use or disclose personal health data)from collecting, using, or disclosing a person's data related to exposure, infection, or other information related to COVID-19, without the individual's affirmative express consent.

HB 3398 Delay implementation of Family And Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program - Changes start date for employer and employee contributions to January 1, 2023. Changes start date for benefit payments to September 3, 2023.

SB 169 Noncompetition Agreements; Establishes that nonconforming noncompetition agreements are void rather than voidable, reduces maximum term from 18 to 12 months, and requires agreements to be in writing.

SB 483 Workplace Safety retaliation and discrimination; Creates a rebuttable presumption that prohibited retaliation or discrimination has occurred if an employer bars or discharges an employee or prospective employee from employment or otherwise discriminates against that person within 60 days of an employee or prospective employee engaging in protected activities regarding workplace safety.

SB 569 Drivers License Requirements for employees; Establishes that employer may only require employee or applicant to provide a valid driver license if the ability to drive is an essential job function or related to a legitimate business purpose.

SB 588 Oregon Sick Leave revised exemptions; Removes exemption from Oregon’s sick leave laws for employees, other than longshore workers, covered under a collective bargaining agreement and who are employed through a third party, and whose benefits are provided by a joint multiemployer-employee trust or benefit plan.

HB 2001 School Districts priority consideration in staff reduction; Requires districts to prioritize seniority but retain teachers with less seniority in order to maintain the proportion of teachers with cultural and linguistic expertise compared to teachers without such expertise.

HB 2550 Real Estate License; Requires real estate licensees seeking to renew an active license or reactivate an inactive license to complete at least three hours of real estate education on state and federal fair housing laws.

HB 2697 Education providers investigatory requirements; Requires education providers to prohibit the use or display of nooses, symbols of neo-Nazi ideology, or the battle flag of the Confederacy on school property or in an education program under certain circumstances, requires the investigation of bias incidents, and establishes penalties for noncompliance.

HB 2835 Expands Public University and Community College responsibility; Requires each public university and community college to train and employ a benefits navigator who will assist students with determining eligibility and applying for public assistance benefits and establishes related requirements.

HB 2906 PERS salary threshold related to redirect to IAP - Increases the monthly salary threshold from $2,500 to $3,333 that triggers a portion of a Public Employees Retirement System member's salary to be redirected from their Individual Account Program to their pension stability account. As per existing statute, the monthly salary threshold will be adjusted annually to reflect the impact of inflation.

HB 3255 Education Employers information sharing with employees; Requires education employers to provide information and materials to employees on federal public service loan forgiveness programs and directs employees to become familiar with and assist other employees with participating in the program.

SB 116 Private Security Standards; Prohibits private security providers or entities employing private security providers from possessing or using equipment, vehicles, uniforms, or titles that imply the provider or entity is affiliated with a public or private safety agency.

SB 197 Private School Compliance; Allows a person to bring an action in court seeking to compel a private school to comply with the requirements of statutes on teen dating violence, sexual harassment, and reporting of suspected child abuse or sexual conduct. If the school did not meet those requirements, the measure allows a student or parent to bring a private right of action against the private school for its failure to comply with the court order.

SB 338 Limited Renewable Energy Technician; Changes scope of work for Limited Renewable Energy Technician to account for contemporary equipment and practices.

SB 40 Nursing License prerequisite; Requires nursing license applicants to have graduated from a program that includes a clinical component.

SB 424 Certain Attorney Compensation; Allows use of base pay of attorneys employed by public corporations, nonprofit organizations, public universities, cities, and counties as comparable base pay for assistant attorneys general if doing substantially similar work.

SB 493 Prevailing Wage; Provides that the prevailing wage for a trade or occupation is the wage established in a collective bargaining agreement for that locality.

SB 495 Unemployment Insurance Eligibility for certain work; Clarifies that performing services in an instructional capacity does not include work performed as an instructional assistant for purposes of unemployment insurance eligibility

SB 496 Unemployment Insurance Eligibility for certain work; Makes certain school workers eligible for unemployment insurance benefits for weeks of unemployment beginning during two successive academic years or terms.

SB 497 Expand county responsibility for community-based supervision; Requires counties assume responsibility for community-based supervision of designated domestic violence misdemeanors.

SB 567 Health Care Discrimination; Prohibits licensed or certified health care providers or individuals acting on behalf of a provider from denying, limiting, or restricting a medical service based on a patient's race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or disability.

SB 580 Title I school expanded mandatory bargaining topics; Makes class size and caseload limits in Title I schools mandatory subjects of school district collective bargaining.

SB 716 Predictive Scheduling change to required considerations; Amends Oregon's predictive scheduling laws to explicitly include childcare needs under the work schedule limitations or changes that an employee may request of a large retail, food service, or hospitality employer.

For a complete 2021 Oregon Legislative Summary, including what passed and what didn’t, please click here.  We look forward to assisting you.

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