2023 Legislative Session Wrap-up: Workers’ Rights Victories

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Dear <<First Name>>,

The long, dramatic Oregon legislative session wrapped up last week. And despite the wild, six-week walkout, it was a good year for workers. NWJP helped get a number of important bills across the finish line, working with our incredible labor and environmental partners.

Oregon became the first state to enshrine in statute the “right to refuse dangerous work” for all workers, with the passage of Senate Bill 907. The idea for this bill grew out of advocates’ frustration at preventable worker deaths due to extreme climate and other workplace hazards. Though Oregon has arguably the best heat and smoke protections for workers in the country, many employers don’t follow the rules. And workers in low wage jobs continue to be asked to do the most dangerous jobs, often with inadequate training. Workers need to be able to choose for themselves when a job assignment is just too dangerous. This new law allows any worker to refuse to be exposed to a workplace hazard that they believe in good faith can seriously injure or kill them, as long as there is no reasonable alternative to refusing. We are currently participating in the Oregon OSHA rulemaking process to make sure the final rule is clear and easy for workers to understand. Once the rule is finalized, we will work with allies to get the word out about this important protection. PCUN led a strong coalition anchored by NWJP, Oregon Environmental Council and Oregon Law Center.

We also helped the Oregon AFL-CIO pass Senate Bill 592, the Keeping Oregon Workers Safe Act. The need for this bill became clear after advocates saw that Oregon OSHA had the lowest OSHA fines of any state in the nation. And that OSHA would only inspect the particular hazard that caused an injury when they inspected- instead of doing a workplace-wide inspection since they were already onsite. The new law substantially increases civil penalties for serious, willful and repeat violations. It also adds new penalties for serious, willful, or repeat violations that cause or contribute to a work-related fatality. The penalties are stiff, and we believe they are unique to Oregon. Each serious violation connected to a work-related fatality will result in a civil penalty of $20,000 to $50,000. Each willful or repeat violation connected to a work-related fatality will result in a civil penalty of $50,000 to $250,000. We hope these changes improve worker safety in Oregon, and bring down our workplace fatality rate, which is sadly higher than neighboring states. Thanks to our client, Maria Vargas, for her compelling testimony on the bill.

Finally, we helped pass HB 3471, a bill that makes it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to require a no-rehire agreement as part of a workers’ compensation settlement agreement. A “no rehire agreement” says the worker has to quit their job and can never work for that company or related entities ever again. Using a similar framework as the groundbreaking Workplace Fairness Act that passed a few years ago, this new law aims to end the common practice of an employer insisting on a no rehire agreement before agreeing to settle the workers’ compensation case. There is no reason an injured worker should have to quit their job in order to settle their worker’s compensation claim. In fact, there are clear protections for workers to return to the job they had at the time they were injured. We are hopeful that this change will end the coercive dynamic that exists as workers try to settle their compensation claim and get back to work.

Big thanks to Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and Oregon AFL-CIO on this one!

A few good bills did not make it through this year: a bill by the Carpenters and Laborers unions to make general contractors liable for their subcontractors’ wage theft; the AARP’s bill to strengthen protections against age discrimination; and a bill to increase funding for community housing for farmworkers, among others. NWJP will be there when these important bills are re-introduced.

Many other important bills passed this session (ONA’s Safe Staffing bill! All four of Fair Shot’s priorities passed this year. Public Defense Reform! Funding for Indigenous Language Justice! See Fairshot’s Press Release here for more on these amazing and important wins.)

All in all, there were some big wins for Oregon workers. Thanks to everyone who made these things happen, especially to the workers who testified, wrote letters and showed up!

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20th Anniversary Celebration

STANDING FOR DIGNITY IN THE WORKPLACE

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