Business Interests Risk Reversing Legislature’s Work to Restore Workplace and Civil Rights Enforcement, and Puts Worker Protections at Risk
This week, Oregon Business & Industry, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and the Portland Metro Chamber filed a lawsuit in Oregon Tax Court challenging the constitutionality of HB 4027 (2025). HB 4027 was developed through a bicameral, bipartisan workgroup that included legislators, the Governor’s office, and business and labor stakeholders, including the Oregon Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, and Oregon Business & Industry. Together, that group produced a framework to ensure Oregon has a stable, predictable system for enforcing workplace and civil rights laws.
Oregon Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, President Graham Trainor said “We are disappointed to see this challenge brought forward, particularly by partners who participated fully in the workgroup and engaged heavily with HB 4027 throughout the legislative process. It is disingenuous for these employer groups to claim commitment to solving chronic underfunding while simultaneously challenging the solution developed collaboratively through months of careful bipartisan and bi-cameral work that some of them were a part of. This lawsuit threatens the hard‑fought progress Oregon has made to rebuild BOLI’s capacity to protect the most vulnerable of Oregon workers. It is unfair to the dedicated staff of BOLI to yet again, be put in the position of worrying about their economic stability while trying to dig out of decades of underinvestment and provide timely service to Oregon workers.”
Going Backwards on Enforcement of Oregonian’s Rights
In 2025, lawmakers approved historic one‑time resources to clear backlogs, rebuild core services, and stabilize the bureau after years of eroding capacity. But those temporary funds expire after the 2027–29 biennium. Absent HB 4027, Oregon has no way to continue supporting the 50+ positions that enable BOLI to address backlogs and restore timely enforcement. Without this sustainable mechanism, Oregon would be forced back into crisis every two years, with no dependable ability to continue operations or maintain progress.
HB 4027 transforms the Legislature’s temporary fix into a durable solution that protects their hard work and avoids repeated emergency interventions.
If this lawsuit succeeds and the Legislature does not act swiftly, Oregon will face an immediate and severe reversal of the gains achieved since 2025:
Workers will have to wait an average of 700+ days to receive unpaid or stolen wages
Even more cases involving sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation could be closed due to lack of capacity rather than evaluated on their merits, with hundreds of additional closures likely each year
The intake backlogs in both the Civil Rights Division and the Wage and Hour Division, which were projected to be cleared in 2026 and 2027 respectively, will return and intensify
The Wage and Hour investigations backlog, on track to be cleared by 2029, will climb again
These consequences affect real Oregonians. Currently, 74% percent of complainants report economic hardship related to their case, whether housing stability, food insecurity, or difficulty paying medical bills. Without sustainable funding, these Oregonians will once again face prolonged uncertainty in moments when they can least afford it. Workers will wait months or years for an answer. Cases involving serious harm will not get the timely attention they deserve.
The bipartisan workgroup and Legislature invested significant time and energy to develop a workable, sustainable solution. That solution is now at risk. If HB 4027 is overturned, the Legislature will be forced to go back to the drawing board under far more urgent and difficult circumstances. In the interim, Oregon’s ability to enforce workplace and civil rights protections effectively will be compromised as the stability provided by HB 4027 is threatened.
