12 • JANUARY 2020
BUSINESS NEWS
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
New Oregon business laws to know for 2020
SALEM — Several new Oregon laws
took effect with the start of the new year,
including some with a direct impact on
businesses.
When a new year starts, it can be easy to
miss the memo on changes to the law. Igno-
rance of the law is not a defense for break-
ing it, however, so here are a few handy
guidelines for 2020:
mation about the time and place of each
purchase, in addition to proof of residency.
Each person is only allowed to apply for
reimbursement once per calendar year, for
taxes paid in the previous year.
According to the Washington Depart-
ment of Revenue’s media relations office,
the necessary forms are online under the
“general public” heading on their home
page. Information can be found at dor.
wa.gov/find-taxes-rates/retail-sales-tax/
sales-nonresidents.
Sales tax
Plastic bags
In July 2019, Washington stopped grant-
ing Oregonians an exemption to sales tax at
the register. But as of Jan. 1, Oregon resi-
dents who have been saving their receipts
can file a tax return for the amount of sales
tax they paid to Washington in 2019.
To qualify, applicants must be a resident
of a state that does not have sales tax, must
have purchased the items for use outside of
Washington, and must be requesting reim-
bursement for more than $25 in taxes paid
(at 6.5% state sales tax, that means spend-
ing at least $384.62 on qualifying items).
They will have to submit receipts and infor-
As of Jan. 1, stores no longer give
out single-use plastic bags at check-out,
although bags used for meat and produce
will be exempt. Stores are required to
charge at least 5 cents per bag for paper,
reusable bags or other alternatives.
By JADE MCDOWELL
EO Media Group
Real ID
As of Oct. 1, 2020, regular Oregon driv-
er’s licenses will no longer be valid to board
a commercial flight, enter a secure federal
facility, such as a military base, or do other
activities where a federally approved form
of identification is required.
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After Oct. 1, Oregonians who want to
take a flight will have to use another form of
approved identification, such as a passport,
or apply for a new type of driver’s license
called a Real ID. The state hopes to have
the federally approved Real IDs available
through the Department of Motor Vehicles
starting in July after finishing a “major IT
overhaul,” according to the department’s
website.
Real IDs will be optional, and those
getting them will be required to pay the
DMV’s fee for replacement of a driver’s
license, plus a yet-to-be-determined addi-
tional Real ID fee. The newly issued Real
ID will have the same expiration date as the
person’s current driver’s license, so people
whose licenses expire soon after the Real
IDs are available are advised they may
want to wait until it is time to renew their
license.
Should someone choose not to upgrade
to a Real ID, a standard Oregon driver’s
licenses will still be good for activities,
such as driving, purchasing alcohol, regis-
tering to vote or applying for benefits.
Employment
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All loans subject to credit approval. Certain fees and restrictions may apply.
Employees in Oregon received a variety
of new protections as of Jan. 1.
Pregnant workers are among those who
receive new protections under the law.
Employers are required to provide reason-
able accommodations, such as assistance
with manual labor or more frequent bath-
room breaks, to pregnant employees. They
are also prohibited from denying someone
employment, requiring them to take a leave
of absence or otherwise retaliating or dis-
criminating against them for requesting
accommodations for their pregnancy.
Employers are required to create anti-ha-
rassment policies for their workplace, and
will no longer be allowed to force employ-
ees to sign nondisclosure agreements
restricting them from talking about harass-
ment or discrimination they experienced at
the company.
Minimum wage
Minimum wage will increase once
again in July, as part of a law passed by
the legislature in 2016 that set up regular
increases through 2022. This year, mini-
mum wage in Oregon will increase to $12
in “standard” counties (mostly found on
the west side of the state, including Clat-
sop), $13.25 in metro counties, such as
Clackamas and Multnomah, and $11.50 in
rural counties.