8/13/25 2025 Oregon Legislative Session General Overview

August 13, 2025

By Becky Zuschlag  & Xavie Davenport

The Oregon Legislative Assembly’s recent session ended on June 27, 2025, with several bills creating notable changes for Oregon employers. The following is a list of the relevant bills that have been signed into law by the Governor.

 Paid Leave Oregon Amendments

Senate Bill 69 provides that employers may require employees returning from medical leave under Paid Leave Oregon to provide medical certification releasing the employee to return to work prior to restoring an employee to a position, if the employer maintains a uniformly applied practice or policy requiring such certification. This amendment becomes effective on September 26, 2025.

Senate Bill 858 amends Paid Leave Oregon to provide that individuals who are eligible to receive wage replacement benefits under a federal unemployment benefits program disqualifies the individual from receiving Paid Leave Oregon benefits. This will be in addition to the current exclusions for individuals receiving workers’ compensation time loss benefits or unemployment benefits under Oregon law. This amendment takes effect on January 1, 2026.

Senate Bill 1148 prohibits insurers that offer, issue, or renew disability income insurance policies from requiring a person who is eligible for disability benefits to use or apply for available Paid Leave Oregon benefits prior to being eligible for disability benefits offered by the disability insurance policy. This amendment becomes effective on January 1, 2026.

 Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) Amendments

Senate Bill 69 clarifies that OFLA family leave taken to care for a child may only be taken for the employee’s child who is either (1) under the age of 18 years, or (2) substantially limited by a physical or mental impairment as described in ORS 659A.104.

Additionally, the law is amended to provide that, under certain circumstances, the closure of the school or childcare provider of the employee’s child due to a public health emergency is a reason for which an employee may begin OFLA family leave without providing prior notice to their employer. These amendments become effective on September 26, 2025.

Oregon Sick Leave Amendment

Senate Bill 1108 expands the permissible use of protected sick leave to include time off to donate blood in connection with a voluntary program that is approved or accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks or the American Red Cross. This amendment to Oregon’s sick leave law becomes effective on January 1, 2026.

Wage Statement Explanation

Senate Bill 906 requires employers to provide new employees, at the time of hire, with a written explanation of earnings and deductions that are shown on itemized pay statements. The written explanation must also include other payroll related information, such as the employer’s established pay period, the types of pay rates employees may be eligible for, benefit deductions and contributions, other deductions that may apply, and payroll codes used for pay rates and deductions. Additionally, employers are required to review and update the written explanation by January 1 each year. These changes become effective on January 1, 2026.

Age-Based Discrimination

House Bill 3187 makes it an unlawful employment practice, with limited exceptions, for an employer to request or require disclosure of an applicant’s age, date of birth, or when the applicant attended or graduated from any educational institution. This amendment takes effect on September 26, 2025. 

Lactation Breaks Extended to Agricultural Workers

House Bill 2541 amends Oregon’s law requiring certain employers to provide reasonable rest breaks for employees who need to express breast milk during the workday, to include agricultural workers, as defined in ORS 653.020(1)(c), as employees who are protected by the law. This change took effect immediately upon passage.

Prevailing Wage Rate Amendments

House Bill 2688 extends the scope of Oregon’s prevailing wage law to include “certain off-site bespoke work fabricated, preconstructed, assembled, or constructed in accordance with specifications for a particular public works.” The amendments take effect on September 26, 2025.  

Eligibility for Unemployment Benefits During Labor Dispute

Senate Bill 916 extends unemployment benefits to striking public and private workers who are otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. Previously, striking workers, or workers otherwise involved in a labor dispute, were ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits. This change takes effect on January 1, 2026.

Permitted Deductions for Overpayment to Public Employees

Senate Bill 968 permits public employers to deduct the amount of an erroneous overpayment of wages paid to a public employee, as long as the public employer provides a written statement itemizing the overpayment amount, the purpose of each deduction, an explanation that the total amount of a deduction will not exceed five percent of the public employee’s gross wages each pay period (unless the public employee otherwise requests and specifies that a greater percentage or amount is deducted), and notice that if the public employee’s employment ends for any reason, the public employer can deduct the balance owed from the employee’s final paycheck. The new law only applies to “public employee[s]” as the terms is defined in ORS 243.650, including employees of cities, counties, community colleges, school districts, etc. and went into effect on July 24, 2025.

Veterans’ Preference Expanded

Senate Bill 808 expands Oregon’s veterans’ preference law to cover current and former Oregon National Guard members. For more information, see our previous e-alert here. 

For questions on compliance with these rules or other labor and employment matters, contact Barran Liebman attorney Becky Zuschlag at 503-276-2151 or bzuschlag@barran.com.