The 83rd Oregon legislative session is nearing its end and there are several employment bills still under consideration. Though nothing has been signed into law yet, these bills have the potential for major impacts on...more
Two administrative agencies within the federal government have been busy lately publishing new rules that govern important aspects of employers’ relationships with their employees. Read more below for further updates....more
In a recent decision titled Buero v. Amazon.com Services, Inc., 370 Or. 502 (2022), the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that Oregon’s wage and hour law uses the same definition of “work time” as the federal Fair Labor Standards...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently affirmed a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision requiring an employer to reinstate an employee whom it terminated after he wrote...more
It’s that time of year to prepare for minimum wage increases and update workplace posters. Beginning July 1, minimum wage rates throughout Oregon increase, to $13.25 for Portland Metro, $11.50 for Nonurban Counties, and...more
5/11/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Oregon ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
As expected, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has repealed the Trump-era rule regarding classification of independent contractors. As we discussed here, the Trump-era rule codified the “economic realities test” for use...more
5/10/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Effective May 4, 2021, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OR OSHA”) published its final rule requiring Oregon employers to continue to implement safety measures to protect against the spread of...more
5/10/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Late last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it plans to rescind the Trump DOL rule that tightened the standards by which two or more companies could be deemed a joint employer for purposes of the Fair...more
Another day, another Trump-era Department of Labor (“DOL”) rule that’s been put on the shelf for 60 days. Last week, we blogged about the Biden DOL’s decision to delay the rollout of the tip rules that the Trump DOL adopted...more
As we previously blogged about, in the final days of the Trump Administration the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a series of new rules regarding how and to whom employers can distribute tips. The new rules were...more
It’s common knowledge that an employee’s overtime rate is “time and a half” the regular rate of pay. But that truism begs the question: what exactly is the regular rate of pay? Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit analyzed...more
The Oregon Employment Department (“OED”) has posted its second set of proposed administrative rules implementing the Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (“PFMLA”). A link to the proposed rules is here and our blog about...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule addressing independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Independent contractor status is a critical question under the FLSA because...more
After a lengthy and contentious rulemaking process, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its final rule revising its tipped-employee regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) last week. The new rules take...more
As we’ve blogged about previously in 2019, the Oregon legislature passed a paid family and medical leave (“PFML”) law which provides Oregon employees with up to 12 weeks of paid leave for a covered purpose through a payroll...more
On Tuesday, the Oregon Health Authority sent a helpful reminder about a little-publicized benefit available to eligible Oregon employees in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: temporary paid leave funded by the State...more
As many of you know, in 2019 the Oregon Legislature passed (and Governor Brown signed) HB 2005, which creates a Paid Family and Medical Leave program for Oregon employees....more
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 (2) they may not work more than 55 hours in a workweek...more
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). That rule would have more than...more
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...more