Workplace safety
What it does: SB 907 A would prohibit an employer from barring or discharging an employee, or to discriminate against an employee or prospective employee, because the employee refused to expose themselves to a hazardous workplace condition.
What’s next: The House Business and Labor Committee has scheduled a work session Wednesday, May 17.
Paid Leave Oregon
What it does: Paid Leave Oregon, established in 2019, allows Oregon employees to take paid time off for specified family, medical or safety-related leave. Paid Leave Oregon required employees and employers with 25 or more employees to begin making contributions into the program on Jan. 1. Employees can begin applying for benefits under Paid Leave Oregon on Sept. 3. SB 913 B would make several technical changes to Paid Leave Oregon, including modifying procedures for requesting a hearing, determining when benefits are available to certain persons and disclosing confidential information. It would change the fixed maximum wage contributions to match the U.S. Social Security contribution and benefit base limit.
What’s next: The bill awaits a vote on the House floor.
Restraint and seclusion
What it does: SB 1024 A would make changes to record-keeping rules for using restraint and seclusion. It also directs, rather than requires, a public education program to maintain a record of each incident in which serious bodily injury or death of a student occurs due to restraint or seclusion.
What’s next: The House Early Childhood and Human Services Committee has scheduled a work session Monday, May 15.
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Legislative notes:
HB 3199 (March 13 and May 1 Legislative Briefs) would reduce the physical education requirement for students in grades six through eight from 225 minutes each week to an average of 150 minutes each school week and allow for minutes to be calculated on a weekly basis or an average weekly basis. The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a possible work session Tuesday, May 16.
HB 3561 (March 13 and May 1 Legislative Briefs) would include “early childhood behavioral and mental health services” in preexisting scholarships and grants already awarded by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission and the Early Learning Division. These scholarships and grants are designed to ensure an adequate supply of highly qualified early childhood care and education professionals in Oregon. The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a possible work session Tuesday, May 16.
