Oregon Statutes 659A.370 – Employer prohibited from entering into agreements that prevent employee from discussing certain unlawful conduct; exceptions; remedies
(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) or (4) of this subsection, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to enter into an agreement with a former, current or prospective employee, as a condition of employment, continued employment, promotion, compensation or the receipt of benefits, that contains a nondisclosure provision, a nondisparagement provision or any other provision that has the purpose or effect of preventing the employee from disclosing or discussing conduct:
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 659A.370
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Employer: means any person who in this state, directly or through an agent, engages or uses the personal service of one or more employees, reserving the right to control the means by which such service is or will be performed. See Oregon Statutes 659A.001
- Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Unlawful employment practice: includes a practice that is specifically denominated in another statute of this state as an unlawful employment practice and that is specifically made subject to enforcement under this chapter. See Oregon Statutes 659A.001
(a)(A) That constitutes discrimination prohibited by ORS § 659A.030, including conduct that constitutes sexual assault; or
(B) That constitutes discrimination prohibited by ORS § 659A.082 or 659A.112; and
(b)(A) That occurred between employees or between an employer and an employee in the workplace or at a work-related event that is off the employment premises and coordinated by or through the employer; or
(B) That occurred between an employer and an employee off the employment premises.
(2)(a) Whenever an employer and a former, current or prospective employee enter into an agreement, the terms of which release a claim brought against the employer by an employee alleging the occurrence of unlawful conduct described in subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section, the agreement may include one or more of the following provisions only when the employee who is a party to the agreement requests the inclusion of such provisions in the agreement:
(A) A provision described in subsection (1) of this section;
(B) A provision that prevents the disclosure of the amount of or fact of any settlement; or
(C) A no-rehire provision that prohibits the employee from seeking reemployment with the employer as a term or condition of the agreement.
(b) It is a violation of this subsection for an employer or former employer to:
(A) Make an offer of settlement conditional upon a request to include in the agreement the provisions described in paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(B) Fail to provide a person with whom the employer seeks to enter into the agreement a copy of the policy described in ORS § 659A.375.
(3)(a) An agreement entered into under subsection (2) of this section must provide that the employee has at least seven days after executing the agreement to revoke the agreement.
(b) The agreement may not become effective until after the revocation period has expired.
(4) The prohibitions under subsection (1) of this section do not apply to agreements entered into between an employer and a former, current or prospective employee if an employer makes a good faith determination that the employee has engaged in conduct prohibited by ORS § 659A.030, including sexual assault, conduct prohibited by ORS § 659A.082 or 659A.112 or conduct prohibited by this section.
(5) An employee may file a complaint under ORS § 659A.820 for violations of this section and may bring a civil action under ORS § 659A.885 and recover a civil penalty of up to $5,000 and relief as provided by ORS § 659A.885 (1) to (3).
(6) This section does not apply to an employee who is tasked by law to receive confidential or privileged reports of discrimination, sexual assault or harassment.
(7) Except to the extent provided under subsections (2) and (4) of this section, provisions included in an agreement in violation of this section are void and unenforceable.
(8) Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from enforcing a nondisclosure or nondisparagement agreement that is unrelated to the conduct described in subsection (1) of this section.
(9) As used in this section, ‘sexual assault’ means unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that is inflicted upon a person or compelled through the use of physical force, manipulation, threat or intimidation. [2019 c.343 § 2; 2022 c.107 § 1]