Employee Privacy: Oregon

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Author: Christina Thacker, Barran Liebman LLP

Updating Author: Brightmine Editorial Team

Summary

• Oregon has both civil and criminal invasion of privacy claims that Oregon employers could potentially be liable for. See Common Law Invasion of Privacy Claims; Criminal Invasion of Privacy.
• Oregon employers cannot obtain or use an applicant's or an employee's credit history information for employment purposes, except in limited circumstances. See Background Checks - Criminal Records and Credit Checks.
• Applicants and employees have protections from employers seeking to subject them to any polygraph examination, psychological stress test, or brain-wave test. See Employee Testing.
• Oregon law allows the medical use of marijuana, but currently, employers do not need to accommodate medical marijuana users under disability law. See Medical Marijuana.
• Oregon employers must safeguard an employee's confidential information under the Oregon Consumer Identity Theft Protection Act, which includes limiting employers to the public display or disclosure of only the last four digits of a Social Security number, among other requirements. See Employee Privacy: Oregon.
• An employer can only record a conversation with an employee if the employer has informed the employee specifically that the conversation is being recorded. See Wiretapping and Eavesdropping.
• Oregon employees have the right to review personnel records on request and to obtain copies. See Other Oregon Privacy-Related Laws; Personnel Records and Information.
• Oregon law gives covered Oregon consumers privacy rights with respect to their personal data but does not apply to employment-related data. See Oregon Consumer Privacy Act.
• Portland has requirements pertaining to employee privacy. See Local Requirements.