Oregon’s Job Applicant Fairness Act Update - BOLI Issues Final Rules

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) issued final rules to implement restrictions on an employer's use of information contained in an applicant's or an employee's credit history. BOLI's final rules effectuate Oregon's new law, "The Job Applicant Fairness Act," which will go into effect July 1, 2010. See "New Oregon Law Prohibits Credit Checks," April 2010 ASAP available at: www.littler.com/PressPublications/Lists/ASAPs/DispAsaps.aspx?id=1484&asapType=Northwest.

Under the law, employers are prohibited from obtaining or using an applicant's or an employee's credit history for the purposes of employment decisions with only limited exceptions for certain employers, including federally insured banks and credit unions, businesses required by law to consider employee credit history, and police and other public employers hiring for law enforcement and airport security. Additionally, the law includes an exception when the individual's credit history