Fall 2008 SBH Quarterly Newsletter
PDF FormatEmployment Law Update - Oregon Courts
Hays Group, Inc. v. Biege --- P3d ---- (D Or 2008).
A contractual agreement to arbitrate is not an unconstitutional denial of the right to a jury trial, even in absence of notice that the agreement waives such right. Under Oregon law, agreement to binding arbitration is a voluntary waiver of right to jury trial.
Lee v. Employment Dept, 221 Or App 449 (2008).
Pre-tax dollars paid into a Section 125 cafeteria plan are properly excluded from wages when determining unemployment benefits.
Necanicum Inv. Co. v. Employment Dept, 345 Or 138 (2008).
The Oregon Supreme Court reversed a decision of the Court of Appeals and found payments to corporate directors were not wages. The Court of Appeals found the directors to be employees of the corporation and their payment for services the equivalent of wages. Thus, the lower court concluded the directors earned wages for purposes of unemployment taxes. The Supreme Court pointed out that the definitions of "employer," "employee," and "employment" set out in ORS Chapter 657 all began with the preamble, "unless the context requires otherwise." This language recognized that although an individual might otherwise meet the definition of an employee, he or she may not be an employee if circumstances suggest otherwise. The court then referenced statutes setting out incorporation requirements, and noted that those statutes specifically note a director could be - but may not be - also an employee. Similarly, other statutes indicate corporate officers may not be considered employees. Examining the circumstances of the directors at issue, the court held they acted in a corporate role and not as employees.
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