Oregon Employment Law

Oregon's anti-discrimination employment statutes under Chapter 659A are among the broadest in the nation, covering all employers with one or more employees. Protected classes include race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, age (18+), disability, family relationship, and expunged juvenile record. Employees may file with BOLI within 365 days or file directly in state court within 5 years. Oregon provides extremely generous filing deadlines and robust remedies.

The Oregon Family Leave Act provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for family and medical reasons. OFLA covers employers with 25 or more employees and provides broader leave protections than the federal FMLA, including coverage for domestic partners and a broader definition of family members. Employees must have worked for the employer for at least 180 days and averaged 25 or more hours per week.

Oregon's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks (14 weeks for pregnancy-related conditions) of paid leave for family, medical, and safe leave reasons. The program covers all employers with one or more employees and is funded through employer and employee payroll contributions. Benefits began in September 2023.

The Portland Ban the Box Ordinance prohibits employers from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. It applies to all employers with 1 or more employees and was one of the early ban-the-box laws adopted by a major US city. Portland generally relies on Oregon state law for most employment discrimination protections.