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Oregon’s new minimum wage law, signed by Governor Brown on March 2, 2016, received a lot of press during the 2016 legislative session.  This new law establishes a tiered system for determination of the minimum wage based on the location of the employer.  The minimum wage will increase annually on July 1 of each year, with the first increase (from $9.25 to $9.50 in rural areas and to $9.75 everywhere else) taking place this year.  By 2022, Oregon’s minimum wage will increase to $14.75 inside Portland’s urban growth boundary, $13.50 in midsize counties, and $12.50 in rural areas. The full text of the enrolled Senate bill is available here.

With minimum wage receiving all of the attention, Oregon employers may have missed other employment-related bills.  Here are the bills that passed during the 2016 Oregon Legislative Session and those that failed (but we might see again in the future).
Continue Reading 2016 Oregon Legislative Update: What You Might Have Missed

Today we continue with our recent New Years theme.  Not to be outdone by their neighbors to the south, the Oregon Legislature was also busy in 2013.  And now that 2014 is upon us so too are a slew of new Oregon employment laws. In areas ranging from social media to sick leave, Oregon employers should carefully review their policies and practices to ensure current compliance with these new laws.  Here is a round up of the major changes to employment laws enacted by the Oregon Legislature (and the City of Portland) that employers should be aware of in 2014:

  • Employers may not demand access to employees’ social media accounts. Beginning on January 1, 2014, employers may not demand access to employees’ or applicants’ personal social media accounts. House Bill 2654, which Governor Kitzhaber signed into law on May 22, 2013, prohibits employers from requiring an employee or applicant to disclose her username, password, or “other means of authentication that provides access to a personal social media account.” It further prohibits employers from requiring that an employee “friend” or otherwise connect with an employer via a social media account, and from compelling the employee to access the account in the employer’s presence such that the employer can view it. A number of other states have passed or are considering similar legislation.

Continue Reading Happy New Year from the Oregon Legislature: New Employment Laws To Watch Out For in 2014

Minnesota employers, take note:  laws that impact you are changing this year. Not only did the Minnesota legislature recently expand the use of employee sick leave (as we blogged about here) and legalize same-sex marriage, but several other changes occurred this year that may directly impact your business.  Here’s a quick round up of some of the most important new laws enacted by the legislature affecting Minnesota employers.

Criminal Background Checks

Perhaps the most notable change is, beginning January 1, 2014, most Minnesota employers must change their standard employment applications and hiring practices related to use of a job applicant’s criminal history. The new "ban the box" law, which refers to the check box on most employment applications asking about an applicant’s criminal history, will bar private employers from asking about or considering an applicant’s criminal history until (1) the applicant is selected for an interview or (2) if there is no interview, the applicant receives a conditional offer of employment. Employers who have a statutory duty to conduct criminal history investigations or otherwise consider criminal history in the employment process, such as school districts and many health and human services providers, are exempt from the new law.

When the law goes into effect, Minnesota employers who previously required all applicants to disclose criminal history will need to defer the inquiry until further into the interview process.Continue Reading 2013 Minnesota Labor and Employment Update

Coming as no big surprise since other states, like Utah and California, have been passing similar laws, the President of the Oregon Senate recently signed the final version of HB 2654, which will prohibit Oregon employers from compelling employees or applicants to provide access to personal social media accounts, like FaceBook or Twitter.  The law will also keep off limit to employers other sites that allow users to create, share or view user-generated content (like videos, still photos, blogs, videos, podcasts or instant messaging, email or website profiles), and also prohibits requiring that employees allow the boss to join or "friend" them on social media sites.  It also prohibits retaliation against any employee or applicant who refuses to provide access to accounts or to add the employer to his or her contacts list. The law becomes effective in January 2014.

Specifically, under the new law Oregon employers will not be allowed to:

  • Require or ask an employee or applicant to share a username or password allowing access to a personal social media account;
  • Require employees or applicants to add their employers to their contacts or friends lists;
  • Compel employees or applicants to access the accounts themselves to allow the employer to view the contents of a personal social media account;
  • Take or threaten to take any action to discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize an employee who refuses to share their account access information, allow their employer to view content, or add the employer to their contact or friends list (or fail or refuse to hire an applicant for the same things).

Continue Reading Oregon Legislature Passes HB 2654 Prohibiting Employers From Requiring Access To Employee Social Media Accounts

Oregon’s 76th Legislative Assembly convened on February 1, 2011. The Legislature has wasted no time introducing a multitude of new labor and employment bills, some with potentially far reaching effects. Below is a (non-exhaustive) list of some of the more interesting bills up for debate:

Civil Rights:

  • HB 2035 — Standardizes statute of limitations period for filing

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The 59th legislative session of the Utah State Legislature convened in January, and several labor and employment-related bills were introduced. We’ve highlighted some of the more interesting bills below.

  •  Immigration – Immigration is an issue that has been a subject of intense debate in Utah and nationally and multiple bills have been proposed on

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The Oregon Legislature was in session in 2009, and many labor and employment-related bills came up for consideration.  A complete list of the bills that passed and the bills that failed follows below (you may have to click "continue reading." 

Several passed and will become law effective January 1, 2010.  Several others didn’t get the support they needed to become law, but employers may want to take note as they may gain more traction in the next legislative session. 

Notable winners:  leave for military spouses, a ban on "captive audience" union meetings, and protections for stalking victims.  Notable losers:  several attempts to clarify an employer’s obligation to accommodate medical marijuana use. 

Up next:  a federal labor and employment legislation update.  Stay tuned!Continue Reading 2009 Oregon Legislative Update