12/19/24 New Protections for Warehouse Distribution Centers Effective January 1, 2025

By Ashley Korkeakoski-Sears & Lex Shvartsmann

Effective January 1, 2025, Oregon House Bill (HB) 4127 (2024) will implement new protections for employees working at covered warehouse distribution centers by requiring employers to provide each employee with written documentation summarizing quotas the employee is expected to meet.

Important Definitions:

• Covered “warehouse distribution centers” include centers engaged in services relating to (1) warehousing and storage, (2) merchant wholesale of durable or nondurable goods, or (3) retailing using electronic shopping and mail-order houses.

• “Quota” is defined as “a work standard under which an employee is assigned or required to perform at a specified productivity or speed, perform a quantified number of tasks or handle or produce a quantified number of materials, within a defined time period and under which the employee may suffer an adverse employment action if they fail to complete the performance standard.”

New Requirements

Under the new standard, employers will need to provide employees with written documentation about quotas that apply to them. That documentation should include:

• The number of tasks to be performed or materials to be produced or handled within a defined time period, and

• A description of potential consequences which may result from the employee’s failure to meet the defined quota.

For new employees, employers should provide this documentation at the time of hire. For current employees, employers should provide this documentation on January 1, 2025, within two days of changing an employee’s applicable quota, and whenever an employee is subject to an adverse employment action for failing to meet their applicable quota.

Takeaways

Beginning January 1, 2025, employers affected by HB 4127 should provide the documentation described above to each current employee and incoming new hires. Employers should refrain from taking an adverse employment action against an employee for failing to meet a quota unless the employee has received this documentation.

For questions relating to HB 4127 involving quotas in warehouse distribution centers or other employment matters, contact Ashley Korkeakoski-Sears at 503-276-2132 or asears@barran.com.