2017 Legislature Creates New Workplace Rules
By Oregon Prosperity Project
The Oregon Legislation adjourned its 2017 Session on Friday. The Session focused on a handful of difficult issues, including passing a balanced budget, attempting to address long-term fiscal issues and finding a way to fund a transportation package.
As constitutionally required, Legislators found a way to balance the budget – with the help of a strong May revenue report – but they couldn’t reach agreement on long-term changes to the spending and revenue equation. The Session’s biggest accomplishment was HB 2017, a $5.3 billion Transportation Bill. Prosperity Project will look at that bill in detail next week.
This week, we examine some of the new laws and regulations created in the 2017 Legislature that will affect employers and employees:
SB 828, Scheduling – Oregon became the first state to pass a statewide scheduling law. Starting July 1, 2018, employers will be required to post schedules seven days in advance, though enforcement won’t begin until July 1, 2019. Beginning in 2020, schedules must be posted 14 days in advance. The bill applies to retail, food service and hospitality employers with more than 500 employees worldwide. The bill allows employers to develop a “voluntary standby list” for employees who agree to work on short notice.
HB 2005, Pay equity – One of the signature bills of the Session, HB 2005 prohibits pay differential based on protected class status and bars employers from asking about the salary history of job applicants. It is the broadest such bill in the nation.
HB 3458, Overtime – This bill was introduced to clear up confusion created by a change in the way the Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI) interpreted how manufacturers should apply daily and weekly overtime. After amendments, the bill set clear standards for manufacturing overtime and also established limits for how many hours employees can be required to work. HB 3458 requires that manufacturing employers who owe daily and weekly overtime calculate the two amounts, and pay the greater of the two—but not both. It caps weekly manufacturing hours at 55, with five more hours allowed if an employee agrees or requests to work them. For manufacturers dealing with perishable products, the bill allows the cap to be raised to 80 hours per week for up to 21 weeks, upon filing of an undue hardship notice with BOLI. Within that 21-week period, it allows the cap to be raised to 84 hours per week for four weeks, upon filing of an additional undue hardship notice.
Disclaimer: Articles featured on Oregon Report are the creation, responsibility and opinion of the authoring individual or organization which is featured at the top of every article.