Along with establishing equal pay standards, employers are also now prohibited from asking potential employees about their compensation history. These new requirements apply to any Oregon employer with one or more employees. To minimize risk of charges or damages, employers are able to complete a thorough survey every three years regarding their work force to demonstrate that employees doing similar work are being paid similar amounts.

This new change may open the door for a slew of pay increases or potential complaints and issues for employers if they are not ready to follow the new law requirements. The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has opened up numerous free best practice guides for Oregon employers who want to best understand how to comply with the new employment statute. (You can check out the guides here)

The equal pay act protects the following classes:

-Race
-Color
-Religion
-Sex
-Sexual orientation
-National origin
-Marital status
-Veteran status
-Disability
-Age

The exceptions to the act for acceptable pay differences include:

-Seniority or merit
-Work location
-Education
-Training
-Experience
-Or a combination of these factors

To see the full amendment to the law you can go to oregon.gov here. If you are an employer in Oregon and have any questions regarding this new legislation, please view the document and resources above to see if your questions can be answered or email our customer service team.

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