Oregon Employment Law: COVID-19 Vaccine mandates – What Oregon employers need to know

Paul Cirner | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C

Paul is an associate in our Portland, Oregon office focusing on employment litigation and counseling. Paul advises employers to ensure compliance with the ever-changing framework of labor and employment laws. Paul routinely helps businesses navigate Oregon’s complex independent contractor laws and prepare independent contractor agreements. As a litigator, Paul is skilled at vigorously defending his clients and working with opposing counsel to reach favorable resolutions when warranted. He represents employers before federal and state courts, arbitration, and administrative agencies on a wide range of employment matters, including claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful termination, leave law violations, wage and hour disputes, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Paul is also familiar with the intricacies of New York state labor law and is adept at defending owners and contractors in construction accident litigation involving personal injury. Prior to joining Ogletree, Paul gained extensive experience as an associate with an international law firm defending clients throughout the New York metropolitan area in litigation relating to construction accidents, premises liability and food-borne illnesses. Paul has conducted and defended countless depositions, drafted and argued motions, provided trial support and mediated actions to resolution. During law school, Paul provided labor and employment counseling in the wine and spirits industry as an intern with the world’s second largest wine and spirits producer, Pernod Ricard USA. He also performed public-interest work as a law student, interning with the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office where he conducted arraignments for the prosecution of misdemeanor crimes in local courts.

Florence Mao | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C

Flo is an associate in our Portland, Oregon office defending public and private employers of all sizes against claims of wrongful termination and employment discrimination. Flo works closely with her clients to understand their business goals and works diligently to achieve the best possible outcome. She vigorously defends her clients in Oregon and Washington state and federal courts through all phases of litigation, from discovery to motions practice.

Flo has also successfully represented her clients before the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI) and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), securing numerous dismissals of agency charges. Flo also advises employers on best workplace practices and procedures, including employee handbooks, severance agreements, and arbitration agreements. Before joining Ogletree, Flo practiced employment law at two large national law firms defending local, regional, and national clients in Oregon and Washington. In her spare time, Flo enjoys hiking with her two rescue dogs, exploring the Portland food scene, and volunteering with a local nonprofit organization, First Book Portland, to buy new books for underprivileged children.

I. Oregon’s healthcare vaccine mandate | 1:00pm-1:20pm
II. Legal challenges to Oregon vaccine mandates and their outcomes | 1:20pm-1:40pm
III. Overview of responding to medical and religious accommodation requests to mandatory vaccinepolicies | 1:40pm-2:00pm