Oregon Employment Discrimination Lawyers

Oregon law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees because of sex, race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, age (for all employees 18 or older), sexual orientation / gender identity, or marital status / marital or family relationship.  These categories are sometimes called “protected personal characteristics.”  Oregon law also prohibits discrimination based on active-duty military status or the need to take a leave of absence for active-duty service.  Oregon’s anti-discrimination laws are broader than federal law and apply to virtually all Oregon employment with very limited exceptions.

Oregon anti-discrimination laws apply to a broad spectrum of employment decisions including hiring, firing, pay and promotions, accommodation of religious observances, and other decisions concerning terms and conditions of employment.  Oregon law also protects employees from retaliation for asking about or invoking their rights under Oregon’s anti-discrimination laws, or for objecting to employer policies or actions that are illegal under those laws.

Employees in Oregon who have been wrongfully fired, demoted, or denied a promotion, raise, or equal pay due to a protected personal characteristic may have legal claims against their employers. Those who have been subjected to intolerable insults or intimidation, or who suffered retaliation for asking about discrimination protections or objecting to unlawful policies, may also be entitled to money damages, legal costs and fees, court orders requiring remedies, and other relief. Speak with an Oregon workplace discrimination lawyer at Schuck Law to explore your legal options.

Like federal law, Oregon law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees on the basis of a qualified employee’s disability and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees.  Oregon’s disability accommodations law applies to most employers with 6 or more employees.

Generally, a “disability” under Oregon law is a medical impairment – physical, cognitive, emotional / behavioral, or otherwise – that substantially limits a person in a major life activity for six months or more.  Oregon law requires employers to provide reasonable, effective job accommodations to disabled employees who request an accommodation for a disability.  Like the federal ADA, Oregon law also restricts the amount of medical information employers can request from disabled employees, and whether and when the employer can ask a disabled employee to take a medical test or a drug test or have a medical exam.  Oregon law also protects employees from discrimination in employment and in their hiring, pay, promotions, or termination on the basis that the employee has a disability, has a history of a disability, is believed by the employer to be disabled (whether correctly or not), has a personal or family relationship with a disabled person, has asked about or invoked their rights under Oregon disability law, or has objected to employer policies or actions that are illegal under Oregon disability law.

Oregon employees who have been denied a job accommodation, wrongfully fired or denied a promotion because of a disability, or who suffered retaliation for asking about or requesting disability accommodations may have legal claims against the employer for money damages, legal costs and fees, court orders requiring the employer to remedy the unlawful circumstances, and other remedies.  Reach out to an Oregon disability discrimination lawyer at Schuck Law for trusted legal counsel.

The Oregon Equal Pay Act (Oregon EPA) prohibits employers from paying employees differently for comparable work based on the employee’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, or age.  These categories are sometimes called “protected personal characteristics.”  Oregon law also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who make a pay complaint about unequal pay that violates the Oregon EPA.  Oregon’s equal pay laws are broader than federal law, and apply to virtually all Oregon employment with very limited exceptions.

Under Oregon law, “comparable work” means work that requires substantially similar knowledge, skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions in the performance of work, regardless of job description or job title.

It is illegal in Oregon to pay employees lesser amounts on the basis of a protected personal characteristic.  This includes payment of bonuses, benefits, and other compensation in addition to wages or salary.  However, the Oregon EPA does not prohibit employers from taking factors other than protected personal characteristics into account, such as seniority, merit, productivity, work location, shift differentials, education, or experience.  Oregon employers are expected to use consistent, verifiable criteria for pay adjustments based on these kinds of permissible factors.

Oregon employees who have been paid less than their colleagues due to a protected personal characteristic may have claims against their employers under the Oregon EPA for unpaid wages, an equal amount in “liquidated damages,” late wage-payment penalties, and legal costs and fees.  Oregon EPA claims usually need to be filed in court within one year of the discriminatory pay practice, so employees who believe their rights have been violated shouldn’t delay in seeking legal advice.