Oregon

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Oregon: Legislative Updates

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Quick Look

  • Oregon employers and employees will be subject to a new shared tax assessment to fund BOLI operations.
  • It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to retaliate against an employee for updating personal information based on a lawful change in federal employment authorization documentation.
  • Covered health care facilities must adopt written policies governing responses to law enforcement arrivals and are prohibited from retaliating against employees who distribute state-approved informational materials about immigrant rights.
  • Covered educational institutions must adopt written policies and train employees on how to respond when immigration authorities enter school property or request student information.
  • Criminal penalties for wage theft and unlicensed construction labor contracting violations are increased.
  • Oregon’s minor work-hour protections may not fall below the federal FLSA baseline.
  • The companionship services exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements is narrowed.

Discussion

The Oregon legislature concluded its 2026 session on March 6, 2026, passing several new and amended laws affecting employer obligations and employee protections. Below is a summary of the key measures that employers should be aware of.

 

BOLI Funding Tax. Effective June 5, 2026, HB 4027 establishes the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Expenses Fund in the State Treasury and will impose a new shared tax obligation on employers and employees. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services will set the tax rate, and once collected, the funds will be used to support BOLI operations, maintain current staffing levels, and fund future positions. The new tax is expected to be around 0.2 cents per hour worked per employee. HB 4027 also increases the cap on the prevailing-wage public-agency fee from $7,500 to $12,500 and requires BOLI to submit biennial reports on whether that fee generates enough revenue to meet staffing needs.

 

New Health Care Without Fear Act. Effective June 5, 2026, SB 1570 establishes the “Health Care Without Fear Act,” which restricts health care facilities and providers from voluntarily sharing a patient’s citizenship status, immigration status, or country of birth with immigration authorities, instead treating the information in the same manner as protected health information. The law also requires covered facilities to develop written policies and procedures addressing, among other things, how to respond when law enforcement arrives at the facility and how to designate areas of the facility that are not open to the public. The law also makes it an unlawful employment practice for a health care facility employer to retaliate or take disciplinary action against an employee for distributing informational or educational materials about immigrant rights and available immigration legal services if the materials are published or made available by a state agency.

 

Immigration Retaliation. Effective June 5, 2026, HB 4111 makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate or retaliate against an employee for updating, or attempting to update, their personal information based on a lawful change in the employee’s federal employment authorization documentation.

 

Notice of Immigration Activities at Schools and Higher Education Institutions. Effective September 30, 2026, HB 4079 requires school districts, public charter schools, education service districts, and higher education institutions to adopt written policies and provide training governing how school personnel must respond when an immigration authority enters school property or requests student information, including a requirement to verify the legal authority of the requesting agency before granting access. While the law broadly extends notification obligations to students, parents, and community providers, covered educational institutions should ensure that compliant policies are developed and that school employees are trained on the required procedures ahead of the law’s effective date.

 

Criminal Penalties on Wage Claims. Effective January 1, 2027, HB 4089 modifies the crime of “theft of services” to include partial payments and clarifies that criminal prosecution for the offense does not preclude a civil lawsuit or administrative proceeding. Under the new law, a direct contractor or subcontractor who knowingly hires an unlicensed construction labor contractor commits a Class A misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class C felony for subsequent offenses. The measure also increases the criminal penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony for intentionally using a construction contractor’s license number without authorization, or for using a construction contractor’s license number regardless of authorization with the intent to deceive the public. The law sets forth imprisonment and monetary penalties for violations, and also requires Oregon’s Interagency Compliance Network to develop methods for gathering and sharing information related to individuals and entities that commit theft-of-services offenses.

 

Labor Standards for Minors. Effective January 1, 2027, HB 4013 establishes a minimum floor for Oregon’s minor work-hour restrictions, requiring that state rules on the total hours a minor may work be at least as protective as the federal FLSA standards in effect as of January 1, 2026. Previously, Oregon law set a ceiling on work-hour limitations for minors, whereas the new law sets a floor, meaning Oregon’s protections for minor employees may not fall below the federal baseline but may be made more restrictive where necessary to conform to changes in federal or state law.

 

Companionship Services Exception Modified. Effective January 1, 2027, SB 1518 modifies the exclusion of “companionship services” employees from Oregon’s minimum wage, overtime, and minimum employment conditions requirements. Under the new law, the exclusion applies only when a person is providing companionship services as defined in federal regulations, specifically 29 C.F.R. § 552.6, as in effect on January 1, 2016, and only if the person is not employed, singly or jointly, by a third party in the business of providing home care or companionship services.

 

Action Items

  1. Review payroll practices to account for new shared BOLI tax assessment.
  2. Covered health care facilities should develop or update policies and procedures to comply with the requirements of the Health Care Without Fear Act.
  3. Review and update antidiscrimination and antiretaliation policies to address the new prohibition related to employee updates to federal employment authorization documentation.
  4. Covered educational institutions should develop written immigration response policies and procedures and implement appropriate training for employees.
  5. Review contractor hiring practices and licensing usage for compliance with wage theft prohibitions, as applicable.
  6. Review and update scheduling practices for minor employees, as applicable.
  7. Review and update worker classification under companionship services exemption, as applicable.
  8. Have appropriate personnel trained on the requirements.

Disclaimer: This document is designed to provide general information and guidance concerning employment-related issues. It is presented with the understanding that ManagEase is not engaged in rendering any legal opinions. If a legal opinion is needed, please contact the services of your own legal adviser. © 2026 ManagEase