Definitions; overtime; meal and rest periods; employment conditions; rules.

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(a) "Domestic service" means services related to the care of persons in private homes or the maintenance of private homes or their premises.

(b)(A) "Domestic worker" means an individual who works in the home of another person for the purpose of caring for a child, doing housekeeping or providing other domestic service and who is not compensated with public funds for the work performed.

(B) "Domestic worker" does not include:

(i) A parent or spouse of the employer.

(ii) A child of the employer who is under 26 years of age.

(iii) Students who regularly attend elementary or secondary school during the day.

(iv) Children, other than children of the employer, who are under 14 years of age.

(v) Children under 18 years of age who provide babysitting services and persons who provide babysitting on a casual basis.

(vi) Persons who perform casual labor in private homes or the maintenance of private homes or their premises, including but not limited to yard work, washing windows and shoveling snow.

(vii) Individuals employed by organizations licensed as required by ORS 443.015 or 443.315.

(viii) Independent contractors.

(ix) Individuals performing companionship services exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).

(x) Persons who perform house sitting duties that do not involve domestic service.

(xi) Persons who provide domestic service in exchange for an in-kind good or service.

(c) "Employer" means a person that employs another person in this state.

(2) A person employing a domestic worker shall:

(a) Notwithstanding ORS 653.020, pay the domestic worker an overtime wage at a rate of one and one-half times the worker’s base rate for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek, or in excess of 44 hours in a workweek if the domestic worker lives in the home of the employer.

(b) Provide the domestic worker at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each workweek. If the domestic worker agrees to work on the anticipated day of rest, the employer shall pay the employee the overtime rate specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(c) If the domestic worker lives in the home of the employer, provide at least eight consecutive hours of rest within each 24-hour period and provide a space with adequate conditions for uninterrupted sleep.

(d) If the domestic worker lives in the home of the employer, permit the domestic worker to cook the worker’s own food, subject to reasonable restrictions based on the religious or health needs of the home’s residents.

(e) If the domestic worker worked an average of at least 30 hours per week during the previous year, provide the domestic worker with at least three paid personal leave days off.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2)(a) of this section, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall adopt rules for the calculation of overtime wages for domestic workers during periods of travel and medical emergencies.

(4) A person that employs a domestic worker may not:

(a) Request that the domestic worker allow the employer, on either a mandatory or voluntary basis, to have possession of the worker’s passport.

(b) Engage in unwelcome sexual advances, request sexual favors or engage in other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature directed toward a domestic worker when:

(A) Submission to the conduct is made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of the domestic worker’s employment;

(B) Submission to or rejection of the conduct by the domestic worker is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the domestic worker; or

(C) The conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the domestic worker’s work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

(c) Subject a domestic worker to harassment based on gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin if the harassment has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the worker’s work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

(d) Retaliate or in any way discriminate against an individual with respect to hire or tenure or any other term or condition of employment because the individual has inquired about the provisions of this section and ORS 653.549 or has reported a violation to, or filed a complaint with, the Bureau of Labor and Industries alleging a violation of this section. [2015 c.457 §1; 2021 c.367 §30]

Note: 653.547 to 653.553 were enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but were not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 653 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.


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