labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Oh my goodness! I thought that I had already researched the states that would have the most comprehensive set of employment discrimination laws in the workplace but I was wrong. Oregon has so much protection for its employees it boggled my mind.

Oregon’s employment discrimination laws in the workplace make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of age(18 and over), breathalyzer results (cannot perform these tests), color, disability (physical or mental), family relationship, genetics (cannot perform genetic screening or brain wave testing), injury, marital status, national origin, psychological stress (cannot perform these tests), polygraph results, race, religion, sex(gender, pregnancy and sexual harassment are included here), testifying before the Legislature, and whistleblowing.

As if the above employment discrimination laws in the workplace do not provide excellent coverage, Oregon also make it illegal to blacklist and employee and employers have to allow employees to attend criminal trials in which the employee is a victim. If you leave one workplace to go to another because of promised benefits or betterments that the new employer does not follow through with, you can sue the new employer. Small businesses are also held accountable for discriminatory acts in Oregon.

Claims in Oregon can be filed with one of two agencies: the state agency, the Civil Rights Division of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI), or the federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These agencies will work together to resolve you claim as long as you file in one agency and request that your claim be cross-filed with the other. The EEOC can be contacted at 206-220-6883 or TTY: 206-220-6882. BOLI can be contacted at one of the following offices:

• Bend Office
  Phone: (541) 322-2435
• Eugene Office
  Phone: (541) 686-7623
  TDD: (541) 686-7847
• Medford Office
  Phone: (541) 776-6270
• Pendleton Office
  Phone: (541) 276-7884
• Portland Office
  Phone: (503) 731-4874
  TDD: (503) 731-4106
• Salem Office
  Phone: (503) 378-3292

Claims through the BOLI must be filed within 180 days of the date of the discriminatory act while you have 300 days of this act to file with the EEOC. Because of the difference in deadlines it is best to first file through the BOLI and then have them cross-file your claim with the EEOC. File early to avoid delays due to legalities in the filing process as these delays can push your past the deadline. Retaining an attorney is a big help, but is not required.

If your claim is not resolved by these agencies, you may need to pursue it in court. Oregon does not require you to file with the BOLI before you file a case in the state courts, but the federal courts do require that you file your claim through the EEOC before you are able to file in the federal court system. Additionally, the EEOC must release your claim by giving you one of two documents: “Dismissal and Notice of Rights,” or “Right to Sue.” A claim filed in federal court must be filed within 90 days of receiving either of the above documents. Lawsuits filed in Oregon’s state court system have a one year time limit from the time the discriminatory act occurred unless you filed through BOLI, in which case you have 90 days from the date your receive a “Right to Sue” notice from BOLI to file a court case.

If I was the victim of discrimination in the workplace, I would hope that I lived in Oregon due to this state’s employment discrimination laws in the workplace. This state has such a comprehensive set of statutes that I can’t imagine anything else they could consider discrimination. Well, maybe I can . . . they left out gender identity, sexual orientation, and affectual orientation, but these things are not illegal in the majority of the states.

If you work in Oregon and have a concern about age discrimination on the job, the state’s Civil Rights Division reminds you that there are a number of ways to file a complaint. The first might be an internal grievance program where you work. After that, you have the possibility of filing with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry’s Civil Rights Division. Workers with a company that has one or more employees are covered under state law, with some exceptions. For this, the minimum age for protection under state laws is 18.

Steps for filing through the Bureau of Labor and Industry include contacting a local bureau office and leaving contact information for an “intake officer.” That officer may be able to tell you immediately if you have a foundation for filing the discrimination complaint. This person may also be able to refer you to the proper agency if the bureau cannot help you.

After you fill out a required form/questionnaire, the bureau can determine if there is a basis for your complaint. If this complaint is covered by both federal and state law, the Bureau of Labor and Industry will file a copy of the paperwork with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The process can include a fact-finding conference, a conciliation meeting, and/or administrative hearing.

One legal scholar sets the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935 as a beginning for treating older people differently in the workplace, and emphasizes that the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) has become very complex. Originally, this law set the age limit for covered workers at 40 to 65. I discovered that the limit was changed to 70, and then eliminated for some workers.

Oregon had a form of age discrimination law in place as early as 1959, with protection beginning at age 18. One recent case involved a man who worked for a large company for more than 20 years, and when he was told the branch was moving to another state, he found that the company thought he might not be the right person to stay on the job. This worker was over 50 and concerned about retirement benefits as well continued employment.