labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The new Oregon Smokefree Workplace Law goes into effect on January 1, 2009. The law prohibits smoking in most public place and workplaces, with a very few exceptions.

Employers are responsible for enforcing the new law. The new law replaces Oregon’s previous non-smoking law, which permitted smoking in many businesses.

Under the new law, employers must prominently post “No Smoking” signs and must prohibit smoking within 10 feet of doors, windows and air intake vents. Employers must also ensure that ashtrays are at least 10 feet from entrances, and train all employees on how to ask patrons to refrain from smoking.

Employers must also (more…)

The Bureau of Labor and Industries is the agency in Oregon that deals with labor laws. This department is in place to educate the public about the laws as well as offer guidance to employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities under such laws. The agency enforces the laws in the workplace to protect everyone and to maintain a fair and profitable workforce in the state.

Oregon (OR) labor and employment laws cover all aspects of employment and at some time or another affects everyone. One law or another governs the whole employment process from recruitment and hiring to termination and unemployment. Working individuals are usually most concerned with the wage and hour laws, these laws address issues like minimum wage, overtime and break periods. The state minimum wage is one of the highest in the nation at $7.50 per hour. Oregon is also one of few states that mandates breaks for employees. The law requires an uninterrupted period in which the employee is relieved of all duties for at least thirty minutes when working at least 6 consecutive hours. Those under 18 must be given a break after 5 hours.

Oregon (OR) labor and employment laws are much stricter when it comes to the employment of minors. The only laws pertaining to adults regarding hours are the offering of the break period and payment of overtime for hours worked in excess of forty. In the case of those under 18 there are limitations depending on the age of the employee. Those who are 14 or 15 can not be scheduled during school hours, more than 3 hours a day or more than 18 hours per week. They also cannot work after 7 p.m. 16 and 17 year olds may work any hours as long as they do not exceed more than 44 per week. No minor shall ever be employed in what may be considered a hazardous occupation.

I found the Oregon (OR) labor laws today on the internet quite easily. Although there are several of them, they are easy to understand. The OR labor laws follow many of the other states, as their labor laws are quite similar.

Some of the OR labor laws need to be displayed in businesses in the state. These labor laws are put on publications called the Oregon labor law posters. Many employers will hang these in areas were employees go often, so they will be seen by everyone. Common places to find OR labor law posters are the work areas, break rooms and walls around the time clock or sign-in sheet. If an employer doesn’t want to hang numerous posters, they may have all the required posters for the state on one convenient Oregon Complete Labor Law Poster.

The minimum wage and overtime laws were the easiest of the OR labor laws to find. In the state of Oregon, the current minimum wage is $7.50. This minimum wage applies to tipped employees, as well. When it comes to overtime, employers are required to pay one and one half times the normal rate of pay for every hour worked over 40 during one work week. There are some employees which are exempt from both the minimum wage and the overtime laws.

I do believe OR labor laws allowed for the longest pay period. This state does say that regular paydays have to be scheduled, but it also states that employers can have an extraordinarily long pay period of up to 35 days!

The OR labor laws also mention various forms of breaks. For any employee working a 4 hour shift, a paid break of 10 to 15 minutes should be given. When the work day goes to 8 hours, then the employee is eligible for a 30 minute meal break. For a meal break to be unpaid, the employee must be completely relieved of all duties.

All time and payroll records must be on file at the place of business, in detail, for the minimum of two years.

These are just a few of the OR labor laws. Others include many federal labor laws that the state has adopted, plus others like the Oregon child labor laws. To find out more, you can look online or find copies of the Oregon labor law posters.

In Oregon the Oregon Labor Board is run by Dan Gardner who is our main person when it comes to any and all issues when it comes to unemployment issues as well as workplace safety issues on our state. This board also oversees all aspects of wages and employment issues in our state. Oregon has a minimum wage of $7.50 per hour which is applied to all employees of the state. This is higher than the national minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. This is done in a n effort to help with the spending and to promote people coming in and working in our state. This minimum wage is applied to all employees including minors and senior citizens.

In Oregon our unemployment rate is currently at 5.4% which is .2 lower than it was in May however it is still higher than the national average of 4.8%. We are getting closer and working very hard to lower our level of unemployed by providing different programs and services to these people in order to help them to get back up on their feet and into the workforce. These programs are designed to help people get new jobs or to find something similar that will help them to sustain their livelihood.

With the Oregon Labor Board a large emphasis is placed on safety and is done so not only to benefit the employee but the employer as well. Everyone is concerned about safety and we all want to do our part to make sure that we come home safe every day from work. So follow the example of the board and work safe and sound. Use the tools provided as well as follow all safety rules as implemented by the state and the company you are working for. A safe place is a happy place.

I have been reading up on OSHA practices within individual states this week. One of the best OSHA Web sites exists in Oregon. The Web site is packed with helpful information and resources that employers and workers can use to help keep the workplace safe and productive.

The purpose of OSHA is to keep the workplace safe and healthy for workers. One of the things that OSHA is responsible for is making sure that workplaces have adequate safety equipment that has been deemed important for certain types of work. For example, a person who works in a lab should have access to an eye flushing station. A person who works on a construction site should have a hardhat.

OSHA is also responsible for gathering data about on the job accidents and fatalities within a given state according to the industry and the cause of death. The Oregon Web site keeps a comprehensive list of fatalities that have occurred during the workday and on-site for workers for the past six years. This report was published in June, 2005.

These fatalities were not always related to the job. For example, the statistics show that three people died in 2004 from Aneurysms.

One of the things that I found most promising was that there is a significant decrease in the amount of fatalities due to crushing. The OSHA report states that in 2000, 15 people were crushed whereas in 2005, only six people were crushed.

However, the OSHA studies also show that there has been a lot of fluctuation in the number of heart attacks that people suffered while on the job. In 2000, 12 people died of heart attacks. In 2002, 30 people died of heart attacks. In 2005, 23 people died of heart attacks. Heart attacks are also the most common cause for workplace fatalities according to the OSHA study.

Employees can obtain detailed information regarding Oregon’s OSHA laws and all the most up to date state laws along with the fedearl on the Oregon Complete Labor Law poster.