{"id":"DUT-OR-005","kind":"duty","level":"state","jurisdiction":"Oregon","state":"OR","metro":"","industry":"","agency":"","eco":"","issuer":"Oregon Legislative Assembly (codified text published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, 2025 Edition)","authority":"Oregon Safe Employment Act, ORS 654.001-654.295 (1973 c.833); ORS 654.010 [Amended by 1973 c.833 s.5]; ORS 654.015 [Amended by 1973 c.833 s.6]; ORS 654.022 [Formerly 654.060; 1977 c.804 s.35]; ORS 654.025 [... 1985 c.423 s.6]; ORS 654.086 [1973 c.833 s.21;... 2017 c.238 s.2; 2021 c.525 s.25; 2023 c.126 s.2]; ORS 654.991 [1973 c.833 s.38; 1977 c.455 s.1; 1999 c.1051 s.321]","instrument":"Statute: ORS chapter 654, the Oregon Safe Employment Act: the employer\u0027s duty to furnish a safe and healthful place of employment and to do \u0027every other thing reasonably necessary\u0027 (654.010); prohibition of unsafe or unhealthy places of employment (654.015); duty of every employer, owner, employee and other person to comply with every safety and health order, standard and rule (654.022); the Director\u0027s jurisdiction over every place of employment (654.025); civil penalties (654.086); criminal penalties (654.991)","title":"ORS 654.003, 654.010, 654.015, 654.022, 654.025, 654.086 and 654.991: the general workplace-safety duty binding every Oregon employer and the penalties for violating it","dateIssued":"2026-09-29","effective":"standing (in force throughout 2020 and 2021)","end":"standing","startDate":"2026-09-29","endDate":"","quarters":["2020Q2","2020Q3","2020Q4","2021Q1","2021Q2","2021Q3"],"types":["DUTY","EMP"],"addressees":["every employer; every owner of a place of employment (654.015, 654.022); every employee \u0027and other person\u0027 (654.022); every \u0027employment and place of employment in this state\u0027 (654.025(1))"],"clause":"Every employer shall furnish employment and a place of employment which are safe and healthful for employees therein,... and shall adopt and use such practices, means, methods, operations and processes as are reasonably necessary..., and shall do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety and health of such employees","enforcement":"Civil penalties under 654.086(1): in 2020-2021 up to $12,750 for a serious violation and $8,900 to $126,749 for a willful or repeated violation, as Oregon OSHA stated on June 2, 2021 (DUT-OR-014) (the 2025 text reads $1,116-$15,625 and $11,162-$156,259, inflation-adjusted; up to $50,000 or $250,000 where death results; up to $15,625 per day for failure to correct); criminal penalty for a willful violation that causes or materially contributes to an employee\u0027s death, a fine of up to $10,000 or six months or both (654.991(1)); citations and orders to correct (654.031, 654.071).","functions":[],"notes":"Commanded every Oregon employer to furnish a \u0027safe and healthful\u0027 place of employment, to \u0027adopt and use such practices, means, methods, operations and processes as are reasonably necessary\u0027 to that end and to \u0027do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety and health of such employees\u0027 (654.010), forbade any employer or owner to maintain a place of employment \u0027unsafe or detrimental to health\u0027 (654.015), and commanded \u0027Every employer, owner, employee and other person\u0027 to \u0027obey and comply with every requirement of every order, decision, direction, standard, rule or regulation\u0027 of the Department of Consumer and Business Services \u0027or in any way relating to or affecting safety and health in employments or places of employment\u0027 and to \u0027do everything necessary or proper in order to secure compliance\u0027 (654.022); Oregon OSHA invoked these sections in March 2020 as the authority to enforce the Governor\u0027s orders at every workplace (DUT-OR-015) and as the basis of OAR 437-001-0744 (\u0027Statutory authority: ORS 654.025(2)\u0027; Ex. OR-032).","sourceUrl":"https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors654.html","snapshot":"","fileExists":true,"fileBytes":384291,"grade":"primary","character":"workplace_duty","description":"","collection":"DUT-OR","url":"/library/DUT-OR-005","exhibitUrl":"/exhibit/DUT-OR-005","citation":"Oregon Legislative Assembly (codified text published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, 2025 Edition), Statute: ORS chapter 654, the Oregon Safe Employment Act: the employer\u0027s duty to furnish a safe and healthful place of employment and to do \u0027every other thing reasonably necessary\u0027 (654.010); prohibition of unsafe or unhealthy places of employment (654.015); duty of every employer, owner, employee and other person to comply with every safety and health order, standard and rule (654.022); the Director\u0027s jurisdiction over every place of employment (654.025); civil penalties (654.086); criminal penalties (654.991) (standing) (Ex. DUT-OR-005)","stateName":"Oregon","related":["DUT-OR-015","OR-032","OR-041","OR-044","OR-049","DUT-OR-014","DUT-OR-003","DUT-OR-004","DUT-OR-007"]}