Discrimination At Work
ORS 659A.030 and ORS 659A.820 — a complaint to the Bureau of Labor and Industries within five years
It is an unlawful employment practice in Oregon for an employer to refuse to hire, to bar or discharge, or to discriminate in pay or in the terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, or age if the person is 18 or older. The same goes for the protected traits of someone the person associates with, and for a juvenile record that has been expunged.
Before an initial interview, or before a conditional offer where there is no interview, an employer may not ask an applicant's age or date of birth or when the applicant attended or graduated from school, except to confirm a bona fide occupational qualification or comply with another law. Retaliating against someone for opposing an unlawful practice or taking part in a complaint is itself unlawful.
Five years. A person claiming to be aggrieved may file a verified written complaint with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries. A complaint alleging a practice this section forbids must be filed no later than five years after it occurred, and a civil action alleging one must be commenced not later than five years after it. Most other unlawful practices carry one year.
A complaint may not be filed with the commissioner once a civil action alleging the same matters has been started in state or federal court. Disability discrimination, family leave, pay equity and claims against public bodies run under other sections with their own rules. Whether particular facts make out an unlawful practice is a question for a licensed Oregon attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- ORS 659A.030 — Discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, age or expunged juvenile record prohibited
- ORS 659A.820 — Complaints
- ORS 659A.875 — Time limitations
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Oregon attorney.