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Brenda Baumgart

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Brenda Baumgart is practice group leader for Stoel Rives’ Labor & Employment group and devotes her practice to assisting companies of all sizes navigate the complexities of employment and labor laws. She partners with clients to provide day-to-day advice and compliance counseling, assisting them with finding practical solutions while minimizing litigation risk. Her litigation and trial work includes defending employers in federal and state courts in all areas of employment law (including single plaintiff cases and class/collective actions), handling appeals exclusively on matters of labor and employment law before appellate courts, including the Oregon Court of Appeals, the Oregon Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, the Eighth Circuit, and the Fifth Circuit, and administrative proceedings before various governmental agencies. Brenda also has a strong traditional labor practice and represents clients in labor arbitrations and matters before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). She conducts internal workplace investigations for private and public sector clients.

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We continue to track Governor Brown’s plans for Oregon’s phased reopening, and the impact on Oregon employers.  Select Oregon counties have been approved to move into Phase 2 effective June 5, 2020, with the majority of Oregon counties moving into Phase 2 by June 8.  Multnomah County, Oregon’s most populous county, remains at Baseline, but hopes to enter Phase 1 starting June 12.

Phase 2 of Oregon’s reopening plan generally allows gatherings of up to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, and encourages individuals to gather outdoors when possible.  The onus is on the operators of gatherings to determine maximum occupancy of each indoor and outdoor area and maintain at least six feet physical distance between parties, and adhere to various cleaning and sanitation requirements, which are available here.  Phase 2 also has sector-specific requirements for indoor & outdoor entertainment facilities, restaurants & bars, swimming pools & sports courts, recreational sports, and venues & events that are set forth in detail below.  Given the many moving parts and that requirements differ by sector, it is prudent for employers to ensure their employees have been provided with proper written policies, protocols, training, and necessary PPE before reopening their doors to the public.
Continue Reading Oregon Issues New COVID-19 Guidance for Employers as Most Counties Enter Phase 2

As restrictions are easing, employers are planning for and starting to bring people back to work.  In these extraordinary times, everyone recognizes that things will not be business as usual.  Here is our “Top 10” checklist of things to consider as we move toward the “new normal.”

  1. Reluctant Returners. Many employees are eager to return

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Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced this week that Oregon is developing a multifaceted, step-by-step plan for reopening businesses and relaxing its “stay at home” measures.  In accordance with federal guidance, Oregon’s plan has three phases, with gating criteria and core preparedness requirements that must be met before moving to the next phase. Between each phase,…

In the wake of an onslaught of employee complaints about social distancing in the workplace, the Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OR-OSHA”) announced that it would begin workplace inspections in order to enforce the social distancing requirements imposed by Governor Brown’s March 23 Executive Order.  Our blog post describing the Executive Order is here, a link to a media article about OR-OSHA’s announcement is here, and a link to OR-OSHA resources regarding workplace safety during the COVID 19 pandemic is here.

Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind if OR-OSHA conducts an inspection at your workplace:

  • OR-OSHA has the legal authority to inspect workplaces for compliance with safety standards, with or without notice. This includes the right to enter the workplace “during working hours or at other reasonable times, within reasonable limits, and in a reasonable manner.”  What is “reasonable” will depend on the circumstances, but in general it means that investigators may access your facility during regular business hours and may inspect portions of the facility as much as necessary to determine whether sound safety practices are being followed.
  • The OR-OSHA investigator will generally begin the inspection by holding a short conference with the employer’s representative. This is why it is important now to plan ahead and designate your representative(s), who may or may not be the same individual(s) who are enforcing social distancing compliance with Governor Brown’s Executive Order, and prepare them for how to cooperate with OR-OSHA.  During the conference the investigator will present his/her credentials and explain the purpose and scope of the visit, request any records he/she intends to review, determine whether any personal protective equipment is necessary while touring the facility, and inform the employer of OR-OSHA’s right to speak to employees and take photographs or conduct sampling.
  • The employer is entitled to have a representative accompany the investigator during the inspection. Inspectors have the right to question employees confidentially without management representatives present.
  • At the conclusion of the inspection, the investigator will conduct a closing conference to discuss his/her findings and advise the employer of any violations and safety hazards that have been identified. The investigator will also discuss OR-OSHA’s remediation and enforcement plan, including items like timelines for correcting any hazards, possible penalties, and the employer’s appeal rights.

Continue Reading OR-OSHA Announces Workplace Social Distancing Investigations

As employers continue to react to and prepare for workplace challenges due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak around the country, the EEOC has updated some of its guidance on the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act.  The EEOC addresses situations such as whether employer can require that employees showing symptoms…

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that an estimated 1.3 million workers will soon be eligible to receive overtime or be in line for a raise. Effective January 1, 2020, the minimum salary threshold for the “white-collar” exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act will be $684 per week or $35,568 per year, an…

A little over six years ago, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer issued her edict (well, memo) kiboshing work-from-home arrangements, driving Yahoo! workers back to their desks and sending shock waves that reached far beyond affected employees.  Mayer’s mantra was that in order to be “one Yahoo!,” workers needed to be physically connected in the workplace.  Her ultimatum ground the notion of telecommuting at Yahoo! to a screeching halt:  Get back to the office or don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

With probably more fallout externally than internally, Mayer’s remote work ban generated much criticism (amid some praise) and has continued to draw scrutiny even years later.  Whether her move was brilliant or a fool’s errand, one universal lesson to be drawn is that companies need to think critically about whether and to what extent remote work arrangements make good business sense.  This is particularly true as the workforce continues to trend away from traditional employment concepts toward freelancing, consultants, and gig workers.  More and more workers expect, if not demand, flexibility, including the ability to telecommute for at least some portion of their workweek.  With limited exceptions, however, this is privilege not a right.
Continue Reading Modern Workforce Increasingly Challenges Employers to Offer Telework Option

Oregon is poised to become the first state to enact a “secure scheduling” or “fair work week” law that will impose significant new employee scheduling requirements on certain categories of large employers.  Senate Bill 828, which will set new scheduling standards for employers with 500 or more employees worldwide in the retail, hospitality, or food services industries, passed the Senate last week and just passed the House.  It has now been sent to Governor Kate Brown, who has indicated she will sign the bill following a routine legal review.
Continue Reading Breaking News: Oregon Legislature Passes Employee Scheduling Bill

“Who will be hurt if gays and lesbians have a little more job protection?” Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals posed this question a few months ago during oral argument in a case involving a teacher who alleged she was fired because she is lesbian.  On Tuesday, the en banc Seventh Circuit answered Judge Posner’s rhetorical question in a landmark decision holding that Title VII protects employees from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation.  The court is the first court of appeals in the country to apply Title VII’s job protections to  employees on the basis of their sexual orientation, interpreting the definition of “sex” under Title VII to include “sexual orientation.”

To casual followers of the law, this decision may seem unremarkable after the Supreme Court ruled nearly two years ago that same-sex marriage enjoys constitutional protection.  (See our blog on the Obergefell decision here, and our blog on the decision’s impact on employee benefits here.)  But it is a watershed decision with ripple effects far beyond the three states within the Seventh Circuit. 
Continue Reading Landmark Seventh Circuit Decision Interprets Title VII Protections To Prohibit Sexual Orientation Discrimination