Labor and Personnel

We represent public employers in labor and personnel matters.

With represented employees, we negotiate the collective bargaining agreement, handle grievances and grievance arbitrations under it, and defend unfair labor practice complaints before the Employment Relations Board. We advise on discipline and discharge of represented and unrepresented employees, including the process a public employee is owed before losing the job.

We write and update personnel policies and handbooks, and we defend employment claims against a public employer before the Bureau of Labor and Industries and in court.

Services we provide

• Collective bargaining
• Grievances and grievance arbitration
• Unfair labor practice complaints
• Discipline and discharge
• Personnel policies and handbooks
• Defense of employment claims

Statutes and rules

• ORS 243.650 to 243.806, Public Employee Collective Bargaining Actbargaining, strikes and their limits, unfair labor practices, and the Employment Relations Board that administers it.
• ORS chapter 659A, Unlawful Discrimination in Employmentthe state employment discrimination and retaliation statutes, enforced by the Bureau of Labor and Industries and in court.

Resources

• Employment Relations Boardthe board that decides representation questions and unfair labor practice complaints.
• Bureau of Labor and Industrieswage and hour rules and the civil rights division that takes employment complaints.