Question: We have an Oregon employee who has been off work due to an injury for 10 weeks. The employee claimed that the injury was work related, so we didn’t count the time off under OFLA. But our workers compensation carrier recently denied the claim. Now that the claim isn’t covered by…
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Oregon’s declared public health emergency due to RSV is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. on March 6, 2023, so eligibility for leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) will return to normal on that date. As we previously reported, Governor Kate Brown’s public health emergency declaration temporarily shrank the minimum…
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The Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled that Oregon wage and hour law is consistent with federal law in not requiring employees to be paid for time spent in mandatory security screenings at the end of their shifts because the screening activity wasn’t integral and indispensable to their principal work activities. As we…
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Question: We have an employee who is using intermittent family leave, but on a number of occasions failed to call in 30 minutes prior to shift, which is required by our call-in policy. We have told the employee that if they fail to comply with the policy again, they will…
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Governor Jay Inslee ended the COVID-19 public health emergency for the state of Washington on October 31, 2022, but employers still have some obligations under state law. As we previously reported, the continuing requirements for COVID-19 (coronavirus) stem from Washington’s Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA) and from an ongoing obligation to…
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Governor Jay Inslee has announced that he will end Washington’s declared public health emergency (PHE) due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) on October 31, 2022. As he previously announced, 12 health care related orders will end on October 27. The remaining COVID-19 emergency proclamations, including the state of emergency, will be rescinded at the…
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Question: Our employee is retiring soon, but we’d like her to finish a few projects after she retires. We don’t want to provide benefits, so we’d like to have her sign a contract saying she’s working as an independent contractor. Are we okay doing this? Answer: It’s unlikely that you’d be able to justify classifying your…
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Question: Last year during the I-9 process, a new hire showed me a Form I-766 (Employment Authorization Document) as proof of eligibility to work. The card is expiring soon and I’ve asked for updated documentation to reverify their authorization to work, but they say they don’t have any new documents. Will I have to…
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The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has made a permanent rule that expands the reasons for Oregon paid sick leave to include time off related to emergency evacuation orders as well as unhealthy air quality or high outdoor temperatures. The permanent rule is identical to the temporary rule…
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Question: A swing shift employee contacted Payroll, upset that her overtime rate didn’t include her shift differential. Our policy is to only use the base rate when calculating overtime. Is that okay? Answer: The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires nonexempt employees to be paid overtime at one-and-one-half times their “regular rate,” not…
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