Oregon OSHA has released its “Near Final Draft” of a COVID-19 Temporary Standard. This proposed new regulation sets forth a number of new rules for how an employer must operate in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and respond to any positive cases among its employees. The regulation applies to employers and building operators. … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently modified its guidance regarding leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). These changes pertain most significantly to the applicability of FFCRA leave to employees of health care providers and the intermittent use of FFCRA. The changes – which take effect on September 16, 2020 – are a … Continue Reading
On the day that its temporary rule was set to expire, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (“BOLI”) issued a permanent rule to allow employees to continue to avail themselves of protected “sick child leave” under the Oregon Family Leave Act (“OFLA”) to care for a child whose school or childcare provider has been … Continue Reading
The Oregon Health Authority recently updated the state’s COVID-19 guidance to expand the use of face coverings to public and private offices. Under the new rule, masks, face coverings, or face shields are required at all times for office employees, including in hallways, bathrooms, elevators, lobbies, break rooms, and other common spaces, unless employees are … Continue Reading
On August 3, 2020, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York held that four provisions of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Final Rule (the Final Rule) implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) are invalid. This ruling is limited for now, as the court did not issue a nation-wide injunction, … Continue Reading
The legal landscape continues to shift rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we reported here and here, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) guidance allows employers to require employee temperature checks, as well as worker testing aimed at detecting COVID-19, even though such testing by an employer would ordinarily raise issues under the Americans with Disabilities … Continue Reading
Effective January 1, 2020, Oregon law requires employers with six or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, such as lactation, unless the accommodation would cause an undue hardship. An employer’s accommodation obligations extend beyond those already required by the federal Americans with Disabilities … Continue Reading
The October 1, 2020 deadline for Oregon employers to update their non-discrimination policies is approaching. In 2019, the Oregon Legislature passed the Workplace Fairness Act (the “Act”), which made significant changes to state law governing discrimination and harassment claims (quick recap here). Among other provisions, the Act requires employers to adopt a written anti-discrimination and … Continue Reading
Employers facing changes in their business or broader economic downturns must find ways to respond and weather the storm. Typically, this means cutting expenses, while maintaining their ability to operate. For many (if not most) businesses, payroll is the single largest expense item. And when business slows, employees are left with excess capacity and are … Continue Reading
Current Oregon law grants two important rights to manufacturing employees: (1) they are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 10 hours in a single work day (and can never work more than 13 hours in a day); and (2) they may not work more than 55 hours in a workweek unless they … Continue Reading
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) requires private companies with fewer than 500 employees, along with most public employers regardless of size, to post a notice summarizing the benefits available under the new law and directs the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a model notice. The Department issued its model notice yesterday. … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has updated its guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”), which was signed into law on March 18, 2020. (A summary of the law is here.) Regulations are coming in April. In the meantime, the DOL’s current resources available are: A tip sheet for employees A tip … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced yesterday that all currently scheduled representation elections – including vote-by-mail elections—have been postponed until at least April 3, 2020 because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Here is what the NLRB had to say: Due to the extraordinary circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Labor Relations Board … Continue Reading
We are continuing to monitor developing issues facing employers due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The latest is from Congress. On March 13, the US House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, (the “Act”) to provide for emergency paid sick and family and medical leave for some employees around the country. Public … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) recently issued a decision in UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside that reverses longstanding Board precedent and holds that employers no longer have to allow nonemployee union representatives access to public areas of their property unless (1) the union has no other means of communicating with employees or (2) the employer … Continue Reading
On March 22, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a new proposed rule that would make several changes to current overtime law. The proposed rule, which is not yet in effect, would require that: Employees make at least $679 per week ($35,308 annually) to potentially be exempt from overtime. (The current requirement, which has been … Continue Reading
A new enforcement policy from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) states employers may face citations for subjecting their employees to hazardous air contaminants even if the levels are below or not covered by a permissible exposure limit. This new enforcement policy comes from OSHA’s recent memorandum released to the public on December 7, … Continue Reading
The 2017 Oregon legislature passed a “secure scheduling” or “fair work week” law that imposes significant requirements on certain categories of large employers. The law, available here, goes into effect July 1, 2018. We previously blogged about the law here. Are You a Covered Employer? The law applies to retail, hospitality, and food services employers … Continue Reading
In a significant win for employers, the United States Supreme Court has issued a landmark decision upholding the use of class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements. This ruling permits employers across the country to enforce individual arbitration agreements with employees, even where the agreement requires an employee to pursue legal claims on an individualized, … Continue Reading
It might appear that in some years, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) issues a series of decisions just as the year comes to a close, but it is not because the Board wants to give out holiday presents (or, from the employer’s perspective for the past several years, multiple lumps of coal). Rather, … Continue Reading
Employers can breathe a sigh of relief. The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) announced this week that it was removing a requirement that EEO-1 reports contain employee pay data. The now-defunct Obama-era requirement announced in 2016 would have required employers to disclose compensation information to the EEOC regarding all employees, including executives – which … Continue Reading
Employers know that the salary rule for “white collar” exemptions from President Obama’s Department of Labor (“DOL”) was blocked by a federal court last year (we blogged about that here). (UPDATE: A Texas federal court invalided the rule on August 31, 2017.) That rule would have more than doubled the salary requirement for an overtime … Continue Reading
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced late last week that it was rescinding its 2013 “Fairfax” memorandum, which allowed union representatives to participate in workplace safety walk-throughs. Here is the background. Soon after the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“the Act”) passed in 1970, OSHA interpreted the law to allow employees to accompany … Continue Reading
Oregon manufacturing employers have been following the ongoing turmoil surrounding the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries’ (“BOLI”) recent interpretation of Oregon’s requirement that manufacturing employees receive overtime when they work more than 10 hours in a day. In the latest turn, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that, contrary to BOLI’s advice, … Continue Reading
