(1) As used in this section:

Ask a business law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified business lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(a) ‘Apprentice’ and ‘apprenticeable occupation’ have the meanings given those terms in ORS § 660.010.

(b) ‘Apprenticeship training program’ means the total system of apprenticeship that a particular local joint committee, as defined in ORS § 660.010, operates, including the local joint committee’s registered standards and all other terms and conditions for qualifying, recruiting, selecting, employing and training apprentices in an apprenticeable occupation.

(c) ‘Community solar project’ has the meaning given that term in ORS § 757.386.

(d) ‘Construction’ includes on-site and off-site construction and fabrication and covers 30 days after project completion.

(e) ‘Covered project’ means:

(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, a renewable energy generation, sequestration or storage facility with a capacity rating of 10 megawatts or greater.

(B) A community solar project with a capacity rating above three megawatts.

(f) ‘Minority individual’ and ‘woman’ have the meanings given those terms in ORS § 200.005.

(g) ‘Repower’ means replacement of enough of the original generation equipment or components to make an original energy generation facility equivalent to a new facility, such that at least 80 percent of the fair market value of the facility derives from new generation equipment or components installed as part of the replacement project.

(h) ‘Veteran’ has the meaning given that term in ORS § 408.225.

(2) A person who constructs or repowers a covered project sited in this state shall, within 30 days from the date the construction begins, provide a signed attestation or declaration stating to the best of their knowledge and belief, subject to penalty of perjury as described in ORS § 162.065, that during all periods of construction all contractors and subcontractors working on the construction or repowering project will:

(a)(A)(i) Except as provided in sub-subparagraph (ii) of this subparagraph, participate in an apprenticeship program registered with the State Apprenticeship and Training Council and with graduation rates equal to or higher than the national average for each respective trade in a manner consistent with the respective apprenticeship training programs, such that 15 percent of the total work hours on a given covered project is performed by apprentices in apprenticeable occupations; or

(ii) If less than 15 percent of total work hours on a given covered project is performed by apprentices in apprenticeable occupations, demonstrate good faith with meeting the requirement described in sub-subparagraph (i) of this subparagraph by providing documented and verifiable information including:

(I) Internet addresses of employment advertisements or job announcements;

(II) Dates, times, Internet addresses and attendance lists of a prejob conference with apprenticeship, preapprenticeship and workforce providers in construction;

(III) Contacts requesting apprentices with an apprenticeship program approved by the Bureau of Labor and Industries including the date, time, telephone contact, electronic mail contact and whether a response was provided within 48 hours of the request;

(IV) Contacts requesting apprentices from a union hall including the date, time, telephone contact, electronic mail contact and whether a response was provided within 48 hours of the request; and

(V) Documentation of job offers and number of job offers made to apprentices;

(B) Establish and execute a plan for outreach, recruitment and retention of women, minority individuals, veterans and people with disabilities to perform work under the contract, with the aspirational target of having at least 15 percent of total work hours performed by individuals in one or more of those groups;

(C) Have policies in place that are designed to limit or prevent workplace harassment and discrimination and that promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion for communities who have been underrepresented in the clean energy sector, including women, veterans and Black, Indigenous and People of Color;

(D) Maintain a license and good standing to perform the work and remain eligible to receive a contract or subcontract for public works under ORS § 279C.860;

(E) Materially demonstrate a history of material compliance in the previous seven years, or provide available history for new businesses, with the rules and other requirements of state agencies with oversight regarding workers’ compensation, building codes and occupational safety and health;

(F) Materially demonstrate a history of compliance, in the previous seven years, or provide available history for new businesses, with federal and state wage and hour laws; and

(G) Provide quarterly reporting and recordkeeping to the project owner or electric utility and respond to records requests and verification; and

(b) If the covered project has a capacity rating of 10 megawatts or greater:

(A) Pay no less than the prevailing wage rate for an hour’s work in the same trade or occupation in the locality where the labor is performed. Prevailing wage rate includes the calculation of wages and fringe benefits per trade and locality and will be treated as standards defined in ORS § 279C.800 to 279C.870.

(B) Offer health care and retirement benefits to the employees performing the labor on the project.

(C) Provide quarterly reporting and recordkeeping to the project owner or electric utility and respond to records requests and verification.

(3) The person shall provide the attestation or declaration and any good faith effort documentation described in subsection (2) of this section to the State Department of Energy within 30 days from the date construction begins and shall notify the purchaser of the project or of the energy from the project of this provision or of the provision of a project labor agreement under subsection (4) of this section, the notice of which shall identify the signatories to the agreement. In addition to the requirements described in subsection (2) of this section, the attestation or declaration must include the following information:

(a) The megawatt capacity and physical footprint in acres of the project;

(b) The geographic location of the project;

(c) The estimated workforce requirements of the project;

(d) A collated list of good faith effort documentation; and

(e) A description of any policies in place for ensuring the person meets the requirements in this section.

(4)(a) In lieu of providing an attestation or declaration described in subsection (2) of this section, the person may provide a copy of a project labor agreement, if a project labor agreement is used on the covered project and shall be exempted from the requirements described in subsection (2) of this section.

(b) As used in this subsection, ‘project labor agreement’ means a prehire collective bargaining agreement as described in 29 U.S.C. § 158(f) that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project or contract.

(c) A project labor agreement may include additional provisions that:

(A) Prohibit discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation or membership in a labor organization in hiring and dispatching workers for the project.

(B) Permit qualified contractors and subcontractors to bid for and be awarded work on the project without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to a collective bargaining agreement.

(C) Permit and promote qualified business enterprises owned by women, minorities, veterans and disadvantaged individuals without regard to whether the individuals are otherwise parties to a collective bargaining agreement.

(D) Guarantee against work stoppages, strikes, lockouts and similar disruptions of the project.

(5)(a) The department shall retain an attestation or declaration filed with the department in a manner consistent with the department’s record retention policies.

(b) Notwithstanding any provisions of ORS § 192.345 or 192.355, an attestation or declaration provided to the department pursuant to this subsection is subject to public records disclosure and the department shall provide a copy of the attestation or declaration upon request.

(c) An attestation or declaration filed under this section is for reporting purposes only and the department may not use an attestation or declaration to investigate, regulate or enforce matters addressed in the attestation or declaration.

(6)(a) Nothing in this section:

(A) Applies to a contract or subcontract with a tribal government, agent or instrumentality of an Oregon Indian tribe for a covered project located in whole or in part on the tribe’s reservation or on land held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribe, unless the tribal government elects to adopt the standards in this section for the contract or subcontract; or

(B) Affects the wage rates overseen by a tribal government, agent or instrumentality of an Oregon Indian tribe.

(b) As used in this subsection, ‘Oregon Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal government’ have the meanings given those terms in ORS § 294.805.

(7) Nothing in this section:

(a) Prohibits the inclusion of labor standards in addition to those required by subsection (2) of this section in contracts that are subject to this section; or

(b) Prohibits a person from using a project labor agreement to meet the minimum requirements of subsection (2) of this section. [2021 c.508 § 26; 2022 c.51 § 1]

757.306 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS Chapter 757 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.