In what many employers will regard as a welcome change, on February 27, 2024, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1515 (which Governor Tina Kotek is expected to sign into law right away) to eliminate many of the...more
The pace of innovation is astounding—jarring, really. Sure, “Artificial Intelligence” has been a topic of public conversation for decades. Many of us remember when Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov at chess in 1997, and when...more
7/13/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Systems ,
Electronic Monitoring ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
NLRB ,
Section 7 ,
Surveillance ,
Technology Sector
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. __ (2023), clarifying the standard governing an employer’s duty to accommodate its employees’ religious observances and...more
6/30/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship
The ink is not yet dry on Senate Bill 999, drafted to attempt coordination of the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and the Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave Act also called “Paid Leave Oregon” (PLO). On June 7, Senate Bill...more
6/22/2023
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Oregon ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the three-member Democratic majority of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in McLauren Macomb, reverting back to pre-Trump era standards and ruling that...more
2/28/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements ,
Unions
In early 2020, most businesses found themselves unexpectedly pivoting their focus to unprecedented operational, workforce, supply chain, and legal changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses have had to...more
12/7/2022
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Heat Exposure ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Medical Leave ,
Oregon ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Credits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Written Notice
During the COVID-19 pandemic, questions about employee health-privacy-related symptoms, testing, and vaccination became prevalent in discussions about the workplace at all levels—from “the water cooler” to national news...more
10/3/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
NRLA ,
Patients ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Sick Employees
In 2019, the Oregon legislature passed the Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) Act, establishing a paid family and medical leave insurance program for Oregon workers that will be funded by employee contributions. After...more
9/15/2022
/ Eligibility Determination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employees ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Oregon ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures