TITLE 51

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT; UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION

Chapter 651. Bureau of Labor and Industries

652. Hours; Wages; Wage Claims; Records

653. Minimum Wages; Employment Conditions; Minors

654. Occupational Safety and Health

655. Benefits for Injured Trainees and Inmates

656. Workers’ Compensation

657. Unemployment Insurance

657A. Child Care

658. Employment Agencies; Farm Labor Contractors; Farmworker Camps

659. Miscellaneous Prohibitions Relating to Employment and Discrimination

659A. Unlawful Discrimination in Employment, Public Accommodations and Real Property Transactions; Administrative and Civil Enforcement

660. Apprenticeship and Training; Workforce Development

661. Organized Labor; Union Labels

662. Labor Disputes

663. Labor Relations Generally

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Chapter 651 — Bureau of Labor and Industries

2011 EDITION

BUREAU OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIES

LABOR, EMPLOYMENT; UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION

GENERAL PROVISIONS

651.010 Definitions

BUREAU OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIES; COMMISSIONER

651.020 Bureau of Labor and Industries

651.030 Commissioner; election; term; qualifications

651.040 Bond of commissioner

651.050 Duties of commissioner

651.060 Power to conduct investigations and issue subpoenas; enforcement; witness fees; staff; delegation; rules; public information programs; fees

ADMINISTRATION OF LABOR LAWS GENERALLY; FUNDS AND EXPENDITURES

651.110 Assistance and cooperation in enforcement of Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

651.120 Entry and examination of workplaces

651.160 Bureau of Labor and Industries Account

651.170 Payment of expenses

651.185 Prevailing Wage Education and Enforcement Account

PENALTIES

651.990 Penalties

GENERAL PROVISIONS

651.010 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) “Bureau” means the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

(2) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries. [Amended by 1979 c.659 §1; 1987 c.158 §123]

BUREAU OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIES; COMMISSIONER

651.020 Bureau of Labor and Industries. The Bureau of Labor and Industries hereby is established as a separate department of this state. [Amended by 1979 c.659 §2]

651.030 Commissioner; election; term; qualifications. (1) The Bureau of Labor and Industries shall be under the control of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries which office hereby is created.

(2) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall be elected for a term of four years.

(3) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall be a citizen of this state who has been a resident of this state for over five years. [Amended by 1979 c.659 §3; 1995 c.107 §3]

Note: Section 22a, chapter 511, Oregon Laws 2009, provides:

Sec. 22a. Notwithstanding section 22 of this 2009 Act [249.215] and ORS 651.030, the term of office of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries elected at the general election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2012 shall be two years. [2009 c.511 §22a]

651.040 Bond of commissioner. (1) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall, before entering upon the duties of the office of the commissioner, execute a bond to the state in the sum of $5,000, conditioned upon the faithful, honest and impartial performance of the duties under ORS 651.030, 651.050, 651.060, 651.120, 651.160 and 651.170 and upon the prompt and faithful accounting for all fees of any nature collected by the commissioner or by designated assistants or deputies.

(2) The bond shall be approved by the Attorney General regarding its legal form and be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

(3) The premium on the bond shall be payable from any fund under the control and administration of the commissioner or of the Bureau of Labor and Industries or from any appropriation made for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the commissioner or of the Bureau of Labor and Industries. [Amended by 1979 c.225 §1]

651.050 Duties of commissioner. The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall cause to be enforced:

(1) All laws regulating the employment of adults and minors.

(2) All laws established for the protection of the health, lives and limbs of persons employed in workshops, factories, mills and other places.

(3) All laws enacted for the protection of employees.

(4) Laws which declare it to be a misdemeanor on the part of employers to require as a condition of employment the surrender of any rights of citizenship.

(5) Laws regulating and prescribing the qualifications of persons in apprenticeable trades and crafts, and similar laws. [Amended by 1959 c.406 §31; 1979 c.225 §2; 1981 c.851 §1; 1987 c.414 §90; 1995 c.386 §3]

651.060 Power to conduct investigations and issue subpoenas; enforcement; witness fees; staff; delegation; rules; public information programs; fees. (1) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries may conduct investigations, issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum, administer oaths, obtain evidence and take testimony in all matters relating to the duties required under ORS 279C.800 to 279C.870, 651.030, 651.050, 651.120 and 651.170 and ORS chapters 652, 653, 658 and 659A and in all contested cases scheduled for hearing by the Bureau of Labor and Industries pursuant to ORS chapter 183 when the information sought is relevant to a lawful investigative purpose and is reasonable in scope. The testimony shall be taken in some suitable place in the vicinity to which testimony is applicable. The commissioner shall adopt rules for gathering information through subpoenas or testimony. The rules must include procedures through which a party may object to providing information. After being served with a subpoena, if a person refuses, without reasonable cause, to be examined, to answer any question or to produce any document or other thing as required by the subpoena, the commissioner may petition the circuit court in the county in which the investigation is pending for an order directing the person to show cause why the person has not complied with the subpoena and should not be held in contempt. The commissioner shall serve the court’s order upon the person in the manner provided by ORCP 55 D. If the person fails to show cause for the noncompliance, the court shall order the person to comply with the subpoena within such time as the court shall direct and may hold the person in contempt.

(2) Witnesses subpoenaed and testifying before any officer of the bureau shall be paid the fees and mileage provided for witnesses in ORS 44.415 (2). The payment shall be made from the fund appropriated for the use of the bureau and in the manner provided in ORS 651.170 for the payment of other expenses of the bureau.

(3) The commissioner shall employ a deputy commissioner and such other assistants or personnel as may be necessary to carry into effect the powers and duties of the commissioner or of the bureau and may prescribe the duties and responsibilities of the employees. The commissioner may delegate any of the powers of the commissioner or of the bureau to the deputy commissioner and to the other assistants employed under this subsection for the purpose of transacting the business of the commissioner’s office or of the bureau. In the absence of the commissioner, the deputy commissioner and the other assistants whom the commissioner employs have full authority, under the commissioner’s direction, to do and perform any duty that the law requires the commissioner to perform. However, the commissioner is responsible for all acts of the deputy commissioner and of the assistants employed under this subsection.

(4) The commissioner may adopt such reasonable rules as may be necessary to administer and enforce any statutes over which the commissioner or the bureau has jurisdiction.

(5) The commissioner may conduct and charge and collect fees for public information programs pertaining to any of the statutes over which the commissioner or the bureau has jurisdiction. [Amended by 1959 c.627 §8; 1963 c.258 §1; 1971 c.734 §29; 1975 c.282 §1; 1979 c.225 §3; 1981 c.851 §2; 1983 c.636 §1; 1989 c.980 §17; 1997 c.240 §1; 2003 c.794 §305; 2005 c.22 §§454,455; 2007 c.277 §1]

ADMINISTRATION OF LABOR LAWS GENERALLY; FUNDS AND EXPENDITURES

651.110 Assistance and cooperation in enforcement of Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The Bureau of Labor and Industries may assist and cooperate with the United States Department of Labor in the enforcement within this state of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Subject to the regulations of the United States Department of Labor and the laws of this state applicable to the receipt and expenditure of moneys, the bureau may be reimbursed by the United States Department of Labor for the reasonable cost of such assistance and cooperation. Records of the bureau acquired under this section shall be kept in confidence to the same extent the records of the United States Department of Labor are confidential, except that the records shall at all times be available to the proper agencies of the United States Government. [Amended by 2005 c.22 §456]

651.115 [1963 c.291 §1; 1967 c.56 §1; repealed by 1969 c.597 §281]

651.120 Entry and examination of workplaces. (1) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries may:

(a) Enter any factory, mill, office, workshop, or public or private works, at any reasonable time, for the purpose of gathering facts such as are contemplated by ORS 279C.850, 652.330, 653.045, 653.540 and 659A.835.

(b) Examine into the methods of protection from danger to employees, and the sanitary conditions in and around such buildings and places, and make a record thereof.

(2) No owner or occupant, or the respective agent, of any factory, mill, office, or workshop, or public or private works, shall refuse to allow an inspector or employee of the Bureau of Labor and Industries to enter. [Amended by 1979 c.225 §4; 2001 c.621 §86; 2003 c.794 §306]

651.130 [Repealed by 1979 c.225 §5]

651.140 [Amended by 1959 c.627 §9; repealed by 1975 c.605 §33]

651.150 [Repealed by 1971 c.508 §4]

651.160 Bureau of Labor and Industries Account. (1) There hereby is established in the General Fund in the State Treasury an account to be known as the Bureau of Labor and Industries Account. Except as otherwise provided by law, all fees of whatever kind, and moneys received or collected by the Bureau of Labor and Industries and the Wage and Hour Commission, from every source, and paid into the State Treasury pursuant to law shall be credited to the Bureau of Labor and Industries Account. Except as otherwise provided by law, all moneys in the Bureau of Labor and Industries Account hereby are appropriated continuously for the payment of the salaries and all other expenses of the Bureau of Labor and Industries and the Wage and Hour Commission. All fees collected pursuant to ORS 651.060 (5) are appropriated continuously for the payment of expenses of public information programs conducted pursuant to ORS 651.060 (5).

(2) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall keep a record of all moneys deposited in the Bureau of Labor and Industries Account. The record shall indicate by separate cumulative accounts the source from which the moneys are derived and the individual activity or program against which each withdrawal is charged. [Amended by 1957 c.465 §1; 1979 c.659 §4; 1983 c.636 §2]

651.170 Payment of expenses. The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries may incur such expense and employ such clerical aids as may be necessary to carry out ORS 651.030, 651.050, 651.060 and 651.120. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services may draw warrants on the State Treasurer for the payment of such expense upon properly verified vouchers approved by the commissioner. However, such expense shall not exceed at any time the amount appropriated therefor. [Amended by 1959 c.627 §10; 1983 c.740 §239; 2003 c.794 §307; 2009 c.161 §5]

651.180 [Amended by 1955 c.138 §3; 1957 c.465 §5; 1959 c.406 §32; renumbered 460.070]

651.185 Prevailing Wage Education and Enforcement Account. The Prevailing Wage Education and Enforcement Account is created in the General Fund of the State Treasury. All moneys in the account are appropriated continuously to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries to:

(1) Administer and provide investigations under and enforce the provisions of ORS 279C.800 to 279C.870;

(2) Provide educational programs on public contracting and purchasing law under ORS 279.835 to 279.855 and ORS chapters 279A, 279B and 279C; and

(3) Conduct surveys to determine prevailing wages. [1995 c.594 §7; 1999 c.152 §2; 2003 c.794 §308]

651.210 [Repealed by 1959 c.406 §34]

651.220 [Repealed by 1959 c.406 §34]

651.230 [Repealed by 1959 c.406 §34]

PENALTIES

651.990 Penalties. (1) Willful neglect or refusal by any person subpoenaed under ORS 651.060 to attend or testify at the time and place named in the subpoena is a Class C misdemeanor.

(2) Violation of ORS 651.120 (2) is a Class C misdemeanor. [Amended by 1983 c.740 §240; 2011 c.597 §262]

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