Oregon Court Rules Wage Law Protections Extend to Employee Inquiries

The Details

The Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled that an employee is protected from retaliation for merely asking for a raise, even where no claim of pay inequity or class-based discrimination is alleged, under Oregon state law.

Background

A worker requested a promotion and a salary increase. After the employer offered them a new title and a pay raise, the worker emailed one of the company’s owners seeking an additional $5,000 increase and future consideration for a director-level role. Days after that follow-up email, the company terminated the worker’s employment.

The worker alleged that the termination was unlawful retaliation based on the inquiry about wages. The employer believed that the law protects only wage discussions among employees that are intended to promote pay equity (not an individual employee’s requests to management for a raise).

The Court of Appeals Ruling

The court of appeals ruled that state law protects an employee from adverse action when the employee inquires about their own wages by requesting a raise because ORS 659A.355(1)(a) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to retaliate against an employee because the employee has inquired about, discussed or disclosed in any manner the wages of the employee or of another employee.

The court focused on the employee wages portion of the law, concluding that:

• The law’s language includes an employee’s inquiry into their own compensation, which also includes a request for a raise;
• The law is not limited to co-worker discussions or circumstances involving pay discrimination;
• An exception in ORS 659A.355(2) on unauthorized disclosures by employees with access to others’ wage information does not limit discussions in this case;
• ORS chapter 659A’s general anti-discrimination wording does not limit ORS 659A.355 to pay equity disputes involving protected classes because protecting an employee who engages in open wage discussions with their employers promotes the legislature’s non-discrimination goals;
• Wage transparency (including direct conversations about pay with management) helps uncover and prevent unlawful disparities; and
• The intent of the law is to protect employee-to-employer wage discussions and raise requests, without fear of discipline or retaliation.

Next Steps

• Train supervisors on the court’s ruling that requesting a raise is protected activity under the law. An employer may deny an employee’s raise request, but they cannot retaliate against an employee for making the request; and
• Carefully evaluate the timing, documentation and decision-making processes for disciplinary actions or terminations following compensation discussions.