STATE
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
A9
Worker protections considered for expectant
mothers, pot users and family caregivers
By Mark Miller
Oregon Capital Bureau
Expectant
mothers,
marijuana users and care-
givers for ailing rela-
tives could all benefit
from worker protections
that legislators are scram-
bling to write into law this
year.
Advocates say state law
doesn’t go far enough to
protect workers in many
cases, especially when
they have medical issues
or family obligations.
Sympathetic lawmak-
ers are offering propos-
als to overhaul the work-
ers’ compensation system,
require
“reasonable”
accommodations for preg-
nant and nursing employ-
ees, prohibit most employ-
ers from firing or not
hiring someone over their
off-hours marijuana use
and provide more robust
paid family and medical
leave.
Business owners worry
that state mandates could
cost them money and
productivity.
House Bill 2005 would
transform family and med-
ical leave in Oregon, turn-
ing it into a universal ben-
efit that would pay out
a portion of an employ-
ee’s wages while they are
out for reasons like a dif-
ficult pregnancy, a debil-
itating injury or illness, a
family emergency or the
recent birth or adoption of
a child.
State and federal laws
currently allow workers to
take unpaid family leave
for 12 weeks per year, and
in most cases, employ-
ers are obligated to let
them return to their jobs.
However, businesses with
fewer than 25 employees
are exempt.
Current law doesn’t
require that an employer
pay an employee who is
on family leave, although
some do voluntarily.
Under HB 2005, also
known as the FAMLI
Equity Act, family and
medical leave would be
paid for by insurance.
Workers would put up to
“I WOULD GET TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT FOR MY STAFF, HELPING THEM
DURING A TIME WHEN THEY ARE EXPERIENCING FAMILY OR MEDI-
CAL ISSUES BY ALLOWING THEM, BY ENABLING THEM TO TAKE TIME
OFF AND TAKE CARE OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN THEIR PERSONAL
LIFE, AND HELPING THEM GET A PAYCHECK DURING THAT TIME,”
Thuy Tran, who owns Rose City Vision Care in Portland
1 percent of their earnings
toward a state-run insur-
ance fund, into which busi-
nesses would have to pay
as well. In return, employ-
ees on leave would be eli-
gible for benefits equal
to some or all of their
salary.
Compensation would
be pegged to a worker’s
salary.
Minimum-wage
hourly workers would be
eligible for full pay. For
higher-paid workers, the
insurance payments could
cover most, but not all, of
their normal wages.
By 2022, a worker could
take up to 22 weeks’ paid
leave: four for pregnancy
leave, if she is completely
unable to work due to preg-
nancy or childbirth; eight
for medical leave, which
could also be used to care
for a family member who
is seriously ill; and 10 for
parental leave, for use only
in the year after a child’s
birth, adoption or foster
placement.
The following year and
thereafter, the maximum
amount of paid leave would
increase to 26 weeks.
The leave provision
is sponsored by House
Majority Leader Jennifer
Williamson, D-Portland,
and Sen. Kathleen Taylor,
D-Milwaukie. It’s based
on the ideas of a work
group they convened last
year.
Supporters say Ore-
gonians deserve to spend
time with a new child or
caring for a relative with-
out going into debt or risk-
ing their jobs.
“We should not be plac-
ing people in the position
of choosing between valu-
able family time and their
career,” Rep. Courtney
Neron, D-Wilsonville, said
at a committee hearing last
month.
Many business-owners
who testified last month
objected to House Bill
3031, an earlier version
of the FAMLI Equity Act.
Gregory Keilman, owner
of The Dalles Chiroprac-
tic, said it would likely
drive him out of business.
“It will destroy small
businesses in this state,”
he said in a letter to
legislators.
To address small busi-
ness worries, the proposal
has been amended to pro-
vide state grants up to
$3,000 to help while an
employee is out on leave.
Thuy Tran, who owns
Rose City Vision Care in
Portland, likes the idea of
an employee’s prolonged
absence from work being
covered by insurance,
which she said could allow
her to bring on temporary
help. That’s a “win-win,”
she said.
“I would get to do
what’s right for my staff,
helping them during a
time when they are expe-
riencing family or medical
issues by allowing them,
by enabling them to take
time off and take care of
what is important in their
personal life, and helping
them get a paycheck during
that time,” Tran said last
month.
The National Federation
of Independent Businesses
is still cool to the proposal.
The group told legislators
it has “major concerns”
about a new 1 percent pay-
roll tax and how small
businesses would staff
their operations when an
employee is on leave.
Another legislative pro-
GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE
posal would make it harder
to deny health coverage
— including follow-up
medical tests — for peo-
ple receiving workers’
compensation.
The Oregon Trial Law-
yers Association origi-
nally proposed House Bill
3022 as a sweeping pro-
posal to overhaul workers’
comp. It has been meeting
with business and labor
representatives to narrow
the bill’s focus, lobbyist
Arthur Towers said.
“What we want to do
is make sure that work-
ers can get those diagnos-
tic tests they need to figure
out what’s really wrong
with them,” Towers said.
“That’s a pretty huge prob-
lem with the system right
now.”
Workers with previous
medical conditions who
are injured can also be
“kicked off” of workers’
comp, as Towers described
it, on the basis that their
employer shouldn’t be on
the hook for preexisting
issues. The group that has
been working on HB 3022
has agreed that employers
should have to prove that
the on-the-job injury isn’t
the reason an employee is
unable to work or has an
ongoing need for medical
care.
Kimberly
Wood,
co-chair of the Oregon
Management-Labor Advi-
sory Committee, said
the group will propose
changes for legislators to
consider as the bill moves
forward.
Three House Republi-
cans voted Monday, April
8, against forwarding HB
3022 to another legislative
committee for more work.
“It seems like it’d
be something that we’d
want to move into a dif-
ferent session, at a later
time,” Rep. Greg Barreto,
D-Medford, said. “Some-
thing as serious as messing
with workers’ comp gives
me concern.”
Legislation to protect
employees who are preg-
nant or nursing is also
advancing.
House Bill 2341 aims
to address what advocates
call “pregnancy discrimi-
nation” in the workplace.
The legislation would pro-
hibit employers with more
than five employees from
rejecting a job applicant
or punishing a worker who
wants them to accommo-
date her pregnancy.
Employers
already
have to provide accom-
modations for workers
with disabilities, bill spon-
sor Rep. Karin Power,
D-Milwaukie, noted. She
believes the law should
protect pregnant workers
in a similar fashion.
Power is also spon-
soring House Bill 2593,
which
would
require
employers to grant “a rea-
sonable rest period” to an
employee to breastfeed a
child or pump breast milk.
The current law provides
30 minutes for every four
hours of work now, which
some advocates say is not
sufficient.
“Not having adequate
time to pump or breastfeed
can lead to infections,”
Power said.
Both proposals have
cleared committee and
now head to the full House.
Meanwhile, the Senate
may consider a proposal to
shield most workers from
employment
recrimina-
tions over marijuana use
outside of work.
Sen. Floyd Prozanski,
D-Eugene, who unsuc-
cessfully pushed similar
legislation two years ago,
believes that since vot-
ers chose to legalize rec-
reational marijuana in
Oregon in 2014, workers
whose marijuana use does
not affect their job perfor-
mance or safety — “not in
a high-risk employment
situation,” as he put it —
should be protected.
He is concerned about
employers behaving in
a “totalitarian” way and
punishing people for what
they do outside of work, he
said, adding, “You should
not have that type of con-
trol over somebody where
it is not justified.”
The legislation — Sen-
ate Bill 379 — has been
amended to allow employ-
ers to ban private use of
marijuana as a condition
of employment for emer-
gency responders, health
care professionals, transit
operators, taxi drivers and
“employees who perform
job functions that may
involve a risk of injury
to others.” That would
cover occupations such
as truckers, construction
workers and machinery
operators.
Marijuana
remains
illegal
under
federal
law. Employers that are
required to follow fed-
eral drug policy would
also be exempt from
SB 379.
WRIGHT
CHEVROLET
HAS SOLD!
Bill Jr. will still be selling but
beginning in May, your choices of New
Chevrolet, GMC, Buick will quadruple!
Choose from over 125 used too!
7pm at Grace Chapel
Remembering Jesus’ sacrifice
with hymns and scripture.
OLD TRADITION, NEW LOCATION!
The shop/service will be shut down but
Warranty Service will still be available!
Prairie City’s Community Easter Service now at
Grace Chapel begins at 10:30am followed by an
Easter egg hunt & potluck at the Senior Center.
Same Two Contact Numbers for Bill Jr:
541-763-4175 • 541-980-2917
GraceChapel-EMC.com | Find us on Facebook!
Still In Fossil!
154 East Williams Street, Prairie City, OR 97869 | (541) 820-4437
114303
114057
Earth Day ~ April 22, 2019
It’s a good time for all of us to start making the most of
new opportunities to recycle. Recycling bins for plastic
containers, tin cans, newspaper, magazines, and card-
board are located at Clark’s Transfer Station, 26431 Luce
Creek Road, John Day, OR.
“Waste prevention” is about not making
waste in the first place as we change what we
use and how we use it.
Consumers can impact the environment by preventing waste thorugh
the choices they can make every day. What materials we consume and
how we consume them is what makes the real difference.
We all can make it a daily practice to recycle, reuse, and compost.
Grant County promotes recycling and waste reduction within the Grant
Watershed as required by OAR 340-090-0030 and 340-090-0040. For more
information, contact Grant County at 541-575-0059.
NAPA Filters’
Spring Sale!
April 15-22, 2019
Spring forward into NAPA Filters’ Spring Sale. You’ll save
big on all NAPAGold oil, air, hydraulic, fuel and cabin filters
you desire. And our unique NAPA Filters’ Program manages
your inventory so that all your vehicles stay on the move
and not stuck in the garage on a lift.
721 W Main St., John Day
541-575-1850
Mon - Fri 7 am to 6 pm
Sat 8am-5pm, Closed Sun
111376