COMPLIANCE & REGULATIONS

The following compliance resources, while not a comprehensive list, are intended to provide hospitality employers with relevant, easily-accessible information and guidance to help stay in compliance with a variety of state and federal statutes. Read more below on posting requirements, service animals, plastic straw ban, hotel communications and carbon monoxide detectors, and more. See also these resource pages:

Wage & Hour Compliance

Federal & State Agencies

Oregon Paid Leave
Oregon’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program (PFMLI) goes into effect January 1, 2023, and is funded by employer and employee contributions. Employers with less than 25 employees are not required to contribute to the program, but their employees are. Employers will be required to participate in the program or provide an equivalent plan. ORLA is actively looking into private sector solutions right now.

• ORLA 1-pager on PFMLI
  
• FAQs
• Paid Leave Oregon Overview

Key Dates:

• 9.6.22 - Employers allowed to submit equivalent plan applications through the state’s portal 
• By 11.30.22 - Employers interested in an equivalent plan must submit a declaration of intent or equivalent plan application to be exempt from state plan contributions beginning January 1, 2023.
• For employers participating in the state plan, employer and employee premium contributions begin January 1, 2023.​

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
ADA Standards that went in effect in 2012 included newly covered elements like mobility devices, service animals, facilities and reservation systems. Lodging and restaurant operators are urged to take the necessary steps to bring various elements into compliance and review existing elements that will be subject to stricter or different specifications. 

• Service Animals - Under the ADA, businesses and organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed to go. Visit the ADA website for more information.
  • ​The Law Regarding Service Animals and Public 
  • Download the Service Animal Policy poster for Restaurants
  • Download the Service Animal Policies & Agreement form for Restaurants 
  • Download the Service Animal Policy poster for Lodging Properties
  • Download the Service Animal Policies & Agreement form for Lodging Properties 
  • See also Disability Rights Oregon for specific state requirements. 
• Swimming Pools and Spas - As of 2013, pool and spa accessibility under the ADA implemented a pool lift requirement. Visit the ADA website or the ADA Accessibility Requirements for more information.
• Restaurants - Whether you're building a new restaurant, renovating a current location, or removing existing barriers to guests with disabilities, the NRA's ADA toolkit gives you all the facts on how new ADA standards could affect your restaurant. The ADA Toolkit is free to NRA members; login is required.
• Reservation Systems - Hotels with online reservation systems must allow a disabled guest to book accessible rooms just as non-disabled guests, including choosing a room type and time of day available to make a reservation. The new regulations for reservations are found at 28 C.F.R. 36.302 sub (e), available on the ADA website. 

Plastic Straws on Request / Plastic Bag Ban
In the 2019 Legislative Session, lawmakers passed a straw restriction and plastic bag ban. Read more on the statewide ordinances.

• (SB 90) Plastic Straws on Request - Prohibits food and beverage provider or convenience store from providing single-use plastic straw to consumer unless consumer specifically requests single-use plastic straw.
• (HB 2509B) Plastic Bag Ban - Prohibits retail establishments from providing single-use checkout bags to customers, except in certain cases. The bill does allow restaurant to offer customers recycled paper checkout bags at no cost to customers or reusable plastic checkout bags at no cost to customers who use an electronic benefit transfer card issued by the Department of Human Services. Violations carry a maximum fine of $250 with one occurrence per day maximum. Definition for “single-use checkout bag” in the bill: a bag made of paper, plastic or any other material that is provided by a retail establishment to a customer at the time of checkout, and that is not a recycled paper checkout bag, a reusable fabric checkout bag or a reusable plastic checkout bag.

Menu Labeling
Official enforcement of the federal menu labeling law began May 7, 2019 according to the National Restaurant Association. The menu labeling regulations apply to restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain of 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items. These establishments must post calorie information for many food items on their menus in a consistent manner nationwide, and make other nutrition data available in writing, upon request.

​For more info, visit these resources:

• NRA Webinar on Demand: FDA's Nutrition Innovation Strategy (how to implement federal menu labeling requirements)
• Menu Labeling Compliance Guideline - Restaurant.org
• New FDA Online Education and Training Module on Menu Labeling

Food Waste: Prevention, Donation, and Composting
Metro’s educational initiative, Food Waste Stops With Me, was launched in spring of 2018 to help businesses reduce the amount of food they throw away. The campaign is part of a larger effort around food waste that may also include requiring some businesses to keep the food they toss out of the garbage. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Metro Council delayed implementation of a Business Food Waste Requirement until March 2022.

​Read more about Reducing Food Waste.

RAY BAUM’S Act and 911 Calling
Effective January 6, 2021 - The RAY BAUM's Act adds new requirements over Kari’s Law, already in effect, that any phone system installed after this date must be configured to pass information sufficient to locate a 911 caller directly to the 911 center (PSAP). For example, the room number, floor number, building number, or similar, must appear along with the business address on the systems used by the 911 center. The law applies to all phones, including common areas, staff devices and other phones. If possible, a callback number that will ring directly to the phone that placed the call should also be included. Note, the law clearly states that phone systems installed before January 6, 2021 are not required to comply with The RAY BAUM’S Act, similar to the allowance that phone systems installed before 2020 do not have to meet the requirements of Kari’s Law. The FCC ruled that requiring compliance for all businesses with a phone system would be too heavy of a financial burden on the US industry in general. For further details, please review the HTNG document and the FCC website.

CBD and F&B
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission adopted a rules amendment Dec. 19, 2019, that will allow it to take action against licensees who make or sell products that mix CBD and alcohol. The ban applies to manufactured products, but OLCC will begin separate rulemaking to prohibit bars and restaurants from blending CBD into alcoholic drinks. The OLCC created an FAQ, a CBD guide and infographics relating to CBD and alcohol available on their website. See also:​

• OLCC resources on CBD and alcohol
• Letter to Oregon’s alcohol licensees Executive Director Marks (12.19.19)

Carbon Monoxide
Alarms or detection systems shall be installed in Group R Occupancies. Check Oregon Codes 908.7.2 in the Oregon Fire Code for more information. See also NCSL Carbon Monoxide Detector Requirements. Oregon uses the 2018 edition of the International Fire Code as the basis of their state and local fire codes. The IFC changed the requirement for carbon monoxide (CO) detection in hotels from an unmonitored CO alarm to a monitored (usually via the fire alarm system) CO detector in rooms and spaces in hotels with a fuel-fired appliance, e.g., boiler rooms, pool heater rooms, laundries, kitchens, generator room and any room/space with a fireplace (propane, natural gas or wood fired). This requirement is retroactive in its application.

Oregon's Indoor Clean Air Act (ICAA)
Also known as the Smokefree Workplace Law, the ICAA prohibits smoking in the workplace and within 10 feet of all entrances, exits, accessibility ramps that lead to and from an entrance or exit, windows and air-intake vents.

​Visit Oregon.gov for more information.

MORE ​HELPFUL LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA regulations, definitions, compliance guidelines
• ADA Standards for Accessible Design - Standards for design, recreational facilities
• ADA National Network - Information, training and technical assistance
• AH&LA - Member resources, webinars, articles, communications
• AH&LA Educational Institute  - AH&LA Educational Institute ADA service video
• BluePath - Marketing tool for hotels to promote accessible features
• DOJ Advisory on Pools - DOJ guidance on pools, spas and wading pools
• Metro - Food scraps policies
• National Immigration Law Center - Rights during immigration raids
• National Restaurant Association - ADA Toolkit for restaurants
• U.S. Access Board - Federal agency - accessible design guidelines and enforcement

POSTING REQUIREMENTS FOR OREGON EMPLOYERS
​Oregon employers are required by a number of state and federal agencies to display a variety of workplace notices and posters. Download from BOLI's website.

COVID-19 INFORMATION
Find the latest COVID-19 related guidance on the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) website and workplace guidance on the Oregon OSHA website. ORLA has compiled information relevant to the hospitality industry on ORLA's Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources page.