Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and learn about new obligations and restrictions for Oregon and Washington employers.
Important changes to hiring, workforce management, wage and hour, and other Oregon and Washington employment laws are taking effect in the new year. Below is a summary of the most significant changes.
Unless otherwise noted, all new laws discussed below will be effective as of January 1, 2025.
OREGON
Hiring and Workforce Management
Paid Leave Oregon
Following on the heels of significant changes to Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) in 2024, SB 1515 amends existing law to permit employees to use PLO for time spent on the legal process for foster care placement or adoption. This qualifying event previously made employees eligible for unpaid leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) but will now be a qualifying event for paid leave under PLO only.
We anticipate that the Oregon Legislature will introduce additional changes to PLO in 2025 to address some of the problems currently experienced by Oregon employers and employees, including a significant claims backlog, fraudulent claims, and the current ability to take leave consecutively under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and PLO (meaning that employees may be entitled to up to a total of 26 weeks of FMLA and PLO leave in a benefit year).
Wage and Hour
Warehouse Employees’ Quota Notice and Records Requirements
HB 4127 adds notice requirements for employers of Oregon warehouse employees who are subject to production quotas. The term “warehouse employees” includes non-exempt employees who work at a warehouse distribution center but excludes drivers and couriers. Employers subject to this law are businesses that directly or indirectly (such as through a staffing agency) employ or control the work of employees at warehouse distribution centers with:
- at least 100 employees at a single location; or
- 1,000 or more employees at multiple locations in the state of Oregon.
Some specific industries are excluded from this law, such as couriers and express delivery services; merchant wholesalers of professional medical, dental, and hospital equipment; and merchant wholesalers of carbonated beverages, beer, ale, and wine. Businesses with workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement also may be exempt from its requirements.
Under this law, employers are required to provide warehouse employees with written notice summarizing the quotas the employee is subject to, including the number of tasks to be performed within a certain time period, and a description of the consequences for failure to meet the quota, including any adverse employment actions that may result.
This notice must be provided (1) upon hire, (2) following changes to any quota, and (3) when an employer takes an adverse employment action against an employee based on that employee’s failure to meet a quota. If the employer fails to provide the notice, the employer is prohibited from taking any adverse employment action against the employee (including, but not limited to, discipline, termination of employment, and demotion) based on the employee’s failure to meet a quota. Employees who believe the employer has violated this provision can file a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.
In addition, effective January 31, 2025, employers must provide certain quota and performance records upon request to a current or former employee who believes they have been disciplined for failure to meet a quota. Former employees can request these records within three years after termination of employment. Employers must provide these records within 21 days of the request. Failure to comply with this portion of the new law can subject employers to civil monetary penalties of up to $1,000 per occurrence.
Wage Garnishment Updates
SB 1595 amends existing wage garnishment laws, requiring Oregon employers to limit wage garnishment for each paycheck to the lesser of 25 percent of disposable earnings or:
- $305 for wages payable between January 1 and June 30, 2025;
- $338 for wages payable between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026;
- $400 for wages payable between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027; or
- the state minimum wage multiplied by 30 for wages payable on or after July 1, 2027.
Industry-Specific Legislation
Health Care
HB 4129 requires the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to adopt rules for licensing agencies that provide home care services to older adults, disabled adults, and individuals with behavioral health needs under the self-directed service delivery model of co-employment for direct support workers. A “direct support worker” includes someone who provides attendant or personal care services and who is co-employed by an “agency with choice services” provider and an individual receiving care.
Among many industry-specific licensing provisions, this law requires the “agency with choice services” provider to be responsible for:
- recruiting, hiring, disciplining, terminating, scheduling, and training direct support workers;
- handling payroll and taxes;
- maintaining personnel records;
- conducting background checks, abuse reporting, and quality improvement; and
- maintaining workplace safety standards.
HB 4129 also requires agencies to implement “labor peace agreements” with labor organizations and provides conditions for DHS and OHA to contract with agencies that do not implement labor peace agreements. The labor peace agreements must include a process for the resolution of labor disputes to avoid work stoppages. DHS and OHA can deny, suspend, or revoke licenses and impose civil penalties on agencies that fail to comply with these requirements.
WASHINGTON
Hiring and Workforce Management
Paid Sick Leave
SB 5793 amends Washington’s paid sick leave law to require employers to update their leave policies to:
- allow employees to use paid sick leave when their child’s school or place of care has been closed due to a federal, state, or local government emergency declaration, and
- expand the definition of "family member" to include a child's spouse and any person who regularly resides in the employee's home or whose relationship “creates an expectation that the employee care for that person” and who actually depends on the employee for care. “Family member” does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home as the employee with no expectation that the employee care for the individual.[1]
The amendment to the law also:
- defines “grandchild” as the child of the employee’s child;
- defines “grandparent” as the parent of the employee’s parent; and
- defines “spouse” as a husband, wife, or state-registered domestic partner.
Pay Equity
There has been a recent influx of class action cases in Washington asserting violations of the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) related to the EPOA’s pay transparency provisions, which have specific requirements for job postings.
In addition to its pay transparency requirements, the EPOA currently prohibits discrimination in compensation based on gender. HB 1905 expands this prohibition against discrimination in compensation to employees who belong to one or more “protected classes” under the Washington Law Against Discrimination. In addition to gender, these protected classes include age; sex; marital status; sexual orientation; race; creed; color; national origin; citizenship; immigration status; honorably discharged veteran or military status; the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability; and the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.
The EPOA continues to permit differences in compensation based in good faith “on a bona fide job-related factor or factors” that are (1) consistent with business necessity, (2) not based on the employee’s membership in a protected class, and (3) based instead on an employee’s education, training, experience, seniority, merit, performance, or a bona fide regional difference in compensation levels.
We expect that this broad expansion of the EPOA’s pay equity protections will increase litigation based on alleged pay discrimination, and we will continue to monitor developments.
What Employers Should Do Now
- Update PLO and OFLA policies to reflect that employees can now take PLO—and can no longer take OFLA—for time spent on the legal process for foster care placement or adoption.
- For Oregon employers with warehouse workers subject to a quota system, implement the notice requirements under HB 4127. Update employee handbooks and internal procedures to address requests for quota and performance records from current and former employees.
- For Oregon employers that meet the definition of “agency with choice services,” consult with health care and employment counsel to ensure your organization is compliant with the many new requirements under HB 4129.
- Ensure that wage garnishments for Oregon employees do not exceed the new per-paycheck limits under SB 1595.
- Consult with counsel to determine whether a pay equity audit or an audit of job postings and pay transparency compliance under Washington’s EPOA may be appropriate for your organization.
- Update Washington paid sick leave policies to incorporate the new definition of “family member” and permit leave related to the closure of an employee’s child’s school or place of care due to a federal, state, or local government emergency declaration.
* * *
Endnotes
[1] Please note that Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time ordinance has an expansive definition of “household members” for the purposes of paid safe time. Eligible “household members” include the categories protected by Washington paid sick leave laws plus former spouses and domestic partners, people who have a child in common, adults related by blood or marriage, adults who have resided or are residing together (including roommates), and persons 16 years of age or older who are or were residing together and who are or were in a dating relationship.
[View source.]
