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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Bill 704
Sponsored by Senator TAYLOR (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act makes new laws for state agencies to determine the employment status of
workers. (Flesch Readability Score: 61.8).
Directs those agencies that administer certain state laws to use specific criteria to determine
whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor and to cooperate in adopting rules
to facilitate consistency in the application of the statutory provisions concerning independent con-
tractors and the provisions of the Act.
Creates a rebuttable presumption that an individual who performs work for remuneration for a
hiring entity is an employee when the employment status of the individual is at issue.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to worker classification; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 670.605.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. For purposes of classifying an individual’s status as an employee or an in-
dependent contractor as necessary for those agencies responsible for administering ORS
671.510 to 671.760, ORS chapters 316, 656, 657 and 701 and the wage and hour laws under ORS
chapters 652 and 653, each respective agency shall determine the individual’s status as fol-
lows:
(1) For the Bureau of Labor and Industries, the bureau shall determine whether the in-
dividual meets the criteria of an independent contractor according to criteria prescribed by
the bureau by rule.
(2) For agencies other than the Bureau of Labor and Industries, the agency shall deter-
mine whether the individual meets the criteria of an independent contractor, as defined in
ORS670.600.
(3)(a) If an agency determines that the individual meets the criteria of an independent
contractor under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the agency shall then consider and
weigh the following factors:
(A) The degree of control that is exercised by the entity for whom the individual per-
formswork.
(B) The extent of the relative capital or entrepreneurial investments of the individual and
the entity for whom the individual performs work.
(C) The degree to which the individual’s opportunity for profit and loss is determined by
the entity for whom the individual performs work.
(D) The skill and initiative required of the individual in performing the work.
(E) The permanence of the relationship between the individual and the entity for whom
the individual performs work.
(F) The extent to which the work performed by the individual is an integral part of the
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 650 SB704
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business of the entity for whom the individual performs work, including whether the work
performed is outside the usual course of business of the entity.
(b) The agency shall find that an employment relationship exists between the individual
and the entity for whom the individual performs work when the factors under paragraph (a)
of this subsection demonstrate, on balance, that the individual is economically dependent on
the entity for work.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any proceeding where a
question of fact regarding the classification of an individual as an employee or an independ-
ent contractor is at issue, there is a rebuttable presumption that the individual is an em-
ployee whenever another individual or entity engages the individual to perform work in
exchange for remuneration. An individual or entity that engages an individual to perform
such work may overcome the presumption by demonstrating by a preponderance of the evi-
dence that the factors and criteria described in section 1 of this 2025 Act establish that the
individual is an independent contractor.
SECTION 3. ORS 670.605 is amended to read:
670.605. (1) In accordance with ORS chapter 183, those agencies responsible for [the adminis-
tration of]administering ORS 671.510 to 671.760, [and] ORS chapters 316, 656, 657 and 701 and the
wage and hour laws under ORS chapters 652 and 653 jointly shall adopt rules to carry out the
provisions of ORS 670.600 and section 1 of this 2025 Act.
(2) The agencies responsible for [the administration of] administering ORS 671.510 to 671.760,
[and] ORS chapters 316, 656, 657 and 701 and the wage and hour laws under ORS chapters 652
and 653 shall cooperate as necessary in their compliance and enforcement activities to ensure
among the agencies the consistent interpretation and application of ORS 670.600 and section 1 of
this 2025 Act.
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