Oregon Employment Screening Overview
Oregon has moderately protective employment screening rules, including a statewide ban-the-box law delaying criminal history inquiries until after an initial interview, restrictions on using credit history unless substantially job-related, and a salary history ban prohibiting employers from seeking prior compensation information.
Federal requirements and local ordinances, particularly Portland's stricter ban-the-box rules, may impose additional obligations.
What's Permitted
- Criminal history inquiries permitted after initial interview statewide (or after conditional offer if no interview is conducted)
- Credit checks allowed where substantially job-related with proper notice
- Private employer drug testing generally permitted without state mandate
- E-Verify use voluntary for most private employers in Oregon
What's Prohibited
- Requiring criminal history disclosure before initial interview or conditional offer
- Seeking or requiring salary history from applicants before a conditional offer
- Running credit checks unless substantially job-related with written disclosure
- Requiring breathalyzer tests without consent or documented reasonable suspicion
- Discriminating based on expunged or sealed criminal records
Ban the Box Laws
StatewideStatus Summary
ORS 659A.360 (https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/o... bars criminal-history questions before an initial interview (or conditional offer). Portland Code 23.10 (https://www.portland.gov/code/23/10) allows inquiry only post-conditional offer with individualized assessment. Note: HB 3187 concerns age, not criminal history.
Key Requirements
ORS 659A.360 (Oregon ban-the-box)
Statewide ban-the-box employment rule:
- Applies to all Oregon employers
- No conviction disclosure on applications
- No disclosure before initial interview
- If no interview, after conditional offer
- Individualized assessment before adverse action
Source: Oregon Legislature — ORS 659A (https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/o... BOLI guidance (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
Portland City Code Chapter 23.10
Portland's local fair-chance ordinance:
- Applies to employers with six-plus employees
- Criminal history only after conditional offer
- Individualized assessment before rescinding offers
- Safety-sensitive roles may be exempt
- Civil penalties up to $1,000
Source: Portland City Code Ch. 23.10 (https://www.portland.gov/code/23/10); BOLI guidance (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
HB 3187 (2025 amendment) — scope note
2025 legislative change — correct scope:
- Does not address criminal-history disclosure
- Targets age and date-of-birth questions
- Effective September 26, 2025
- Employers must still follow ORS 659A.360
- Confirm statutory text before policy changes
Source: Oregon Legislature (search HB 3187) — https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/; BOLI guidance (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
Ban the Box Best Practices for Oregon Employers
- Remove criminal-history questions from applications and online portals
- Never request convictions before the initial interview stage
- In Portland, obtain criminal-history only after conditional offer
- Conduct individualized assessment before rescinding offers for convictions
- Document timing, assessments, training, and adverse-action notices
Salary History Ban
StatewideORS 659A.357 — Oregon Equal Pay Act (Salary History Ban)
State statute banning salary history inquiries and consideration: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/o... https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/equal-pa...
- No seeking of applicants' salary history
- Cannot consider disclosed salary history
- Confirm only after conditional offer, with consent
- Internal transfers and promotions exempt
- Enforced by BOLI; civil remedies available
HB 2746 (Failed 2025)
Proposed amendments that would have expanded ban and added pay-transparency rules (did not pass): https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Meas...
- Would have extended ban to employment agencies
- Would have required pay range in job postings
- Would have required pay disclosure upon request and at hire
- Failed: died in committee upon adjournment Sine Die, June 27, 2025
- Not enacted; monitor future sessions for possible reintroduction
Important Distinction
Oregon prohibits employers from considering an applicant's prior compensation even if voluntarily disclosed, unlike jurisdictions that permit consideration of volunteered salary history. https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/equal-pa... https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/Archi...
Salary History Best Practices for Oregon Employers
- Do not seek or request applicants' salary history.
- Do not consider voluntarily disclosed prior compensation.
- Ask applicants' salary expectations or desired range.
- Confirm prior pay only after conditional offer with written consent.
- Train staff, update forms, and document compensation rationale.
Consumer Credit Checks
RestrictedOregon prohibits employer credit‑history checks under ORS 659A.320, with narrow exceptions (federally insured banks, public safety, legal mandates, or substantially job‑related with written disclosure and OAR guidance); enforcement via BOLI and civil remedies. https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d... https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/o...
Key Requirements
ORS 659A.320 — Discrimination based on credit history
State statute broadly prohibiting employer credit checks except narrow exceptions:
- Prohibits obtaining credit history
- Prohibits using credit history
- Applies to applicants and employees
- No employer-size threshold
- Violations allow BOLI complaints or lawsuits
Sources: ORS 659A.320 (https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/o... BOLI guidance (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
OAR 839-005-0080 — "Substantially job-related" standard
Administrative rule defining when credit checks are permitted:
- Requires individualized job assessment
- Permits checks for financial access roles
- Permits checks for insurance or bond requirements
- Requires written disclosure before checks
- Documentation needed for justification
Sources: OAR 839-005-0080 (https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule... BOLI guidance (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
OAR 839-005-0085 — Retaliation and coercion prohibition
Rule barring adverse actions and coercion related to credit rights:
- Prohibits retaliation for asserting rights
- Prohibits coercing credit authorizations
- Allows complaint filing with BOLI
- Creates enforcement procedures
Sources: OAR 839-005-0085 (https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule... BOLI guidance (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) — Federal requirements
Federal consumer-report rules that apply when checks are lawful:
- Requires disclosure and written consent
- Mandates adverse-action notices with report
- Applies even if state permits checks
- Employer must provide report copy
Sources: FCRA summary (https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre... BOLI FCRA note (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
ORS 659A.360 — Criminal conviction history restrictions (related timing)
Separate state law limiting criminal-history inquiries timing:
- No conviction inquiries before interview
- If no interview, no pre-offer inquiry
- Portland ordinance may be stricter
- Credit restrictions remain separate
Sources: ORS 659A.360 (https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/o... Portland code (https://www.portland.gov/code/23/10)
Credit Check Best Practices for Oregon Employers
- Do not obtain or use credit history unless exception applies
- Invoke substantially job-related exception with individualized assessment
- Provide written disclosure before obtaining credit information
- Document rationale, disclosures, and FCRA compliance records
- Ensure vendors, hiring managers trained and contractually compliant
Marijuana Protection
Medicinal Marijuana
Oregon law does not require employers to allow medical marijuana use or accommodate impairment at work; employers may prohibit use/possession while working (ORS 659A.127). Drug tests used for adverse action must be confirmed by licensed labs (ORS 438.435).
Recreational Marijuana
Recreational legalization does not create workplace-use rights. Employers may ban use/possession while working (ORS 659A.127). State agencies have added limits for designated positions under DAS Policy 50-000-02 (effective 01/01/2025) and must use licensed/confirmed testing (ORS 438.435).
Drug Testing Regulations
As of Jan 2026, Oregon generally allows private‑sector drug testing; tests for adverse action must use labs licensed under ORS 438.010–438.510 with confirmatory testing; state agencies follow DAS Policy 50-000-02; breathalyzer testing is limited by ORS 659A.300.
Permitted Testing Types
Pre-Employment
Allowed for designated public final-applicants; private employers generally permitted
Random Testing
Allowed for designated public positions; generally permitted for private employers
Reasonable Suspicion
Allowed with documented factual basis; procedural safeguards required
Post Accident
Permitted when drug use likely contributed; blanket testing disfavored
Workers' Compensation Discount
No Oregon statute explicitly links employer drug testing to workers' compensation premium discounts.
Sources require lab certification and testing procedures, but do not reference comp premium or discount programs.
Best Practices
- Use labs licensed under ORS 438.010–438.510.
- Confirm positive results with state-designated confirmatory testing first.
- Limit breathalyzer tests; require reasonable-suspicion or employee consent.
- Public agencies follow DAS Policy 50-000-02 testing procedures.
- Base actions on observed impairment or job performance.
Clean Slate Laws
NoOregon lacks automatic clean‑slate relief; records are petition‑sealed under ORS 137.225 (SB 397) (https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_137.225) and employment is protected by ban‑the‑box, ORS 659A.360 (https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/hiring-d...
E-Verify Requirements
VoluntaryWho Must Use E-Verify
Private Employers [Immigration Reform and Control Act (8 U.S.C. Ch. 12); Form I-9]
E-Verify is voluntary for most Oregon private employers; federal Form I-9 completion and retention remain mandatory under federal law.
https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/immigran... https://go.usa.gov/xFee4
Federal Contractors [48 CFR Part 22 Subpart 22.18; Executive Orders requiring E-Verify]
Covered federal contractors and subcontractors must use E-Verify per FAR 48 CFR Part 22 Subpart 22.18 and applicable executive orders for covered federal contracts.
https://go.usa.gov/xJ9qR https://www.oregon.gov/boli/employers/Documents/Co...
Any other relevant groups [Public works contractors: Oregon prevailing‑wage/certified‑payroll; Employers of minors: Employment Certificates]
Public‑works contractors must comply with Oregon prevailing‑wage and certified‑payroll rules; employers of minors must obtain BOLI employment certificates—these are state requirements, not E‑Verify mandates.
https://www.oregon.gov/boli/employers/Documents/Co... https://www.oregon.gov/boli/employers/pages/employ...
Background Check Regulations
Federal FCRA governs use of consumer reports, but Oregon law layers on additional limits— including ban‑the‑box (no criminal‑history questions before interview or conditional offer under ORS 659A.360), restrictions on credit/salary/age inquiries, and stricter Portland rules; comply with both federal and state/local law.
FCRA Compliance Process
Disclosure & Authorization
Provide clear, standalone written disclosure that a background check will be conducted. Obtain separate written authorization from the applicant before ordering the report.
Obtain Background Report
Order the background check from a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). Ensure the CRA is FCRA-compliant and provides accurate, up-to-date information.
Pre-Adverse Action Notice
If considering denying employment based on the report, provide the applicant with:
- Copy of the background report
- Copy of "A Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA"
- Reasonable time to respond (typically 5 business days)
Adverse Action Notice
If final decision is made to deny employment, provide written notice including:
- Name, address, and phone number of the CRA
- Statement that the CRA did not make the decision
- Notice of right to dispute report accuracy
- Notice of right to request additional free copy within 60 days