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Bill to clarify reasonable accommodation rules, ban irrelevant physical requirements advances to discussion
Summary
House Bill 4,093 would require BOLI to post guidance on reasonable accommodation, bar employers from using minimum physical requirements in postings without tying them to essential job functions, and allow a worker to bring a support person to accommodation meetings. Disability advocates supported the measure; business groups asked for language clarifications and urged avoiding adversarial meeting dynamics.
Lawmakers and advocates told the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee on Feb. 2, 2025, that House Bill 4,093 would reduce barriers to employment for people with disabilities by clarifying reasonable accommodation processes and limiting the use of irrelevant physical requirements in job postings.
Erin (committee staff) summarized key provisions: BOLI must create guidance and make it available online; employers would be prohibited from using minimum physical requirements in job postings to screen out applicants without connecting the requirement to an essential function; employees would be allowed to bring a support person to reasonable accommodation discussions; and nondiscrimination protections would be extended to local governments. No fiscal impact was reported.
Representative Travis Nelson, who introduced the bill, said the measure "helps people with disabilities enter, stay in, and contribute to the workforce," and noted amendments will clarify that the additional person be a "support person" (not intended to transform meetings into adversarial proceedings) and will refine language about physical requirements.
Disability Rights Oregon's Jake Cornett testified in strong support, saying Section 3 would address job postings with unrelated minimum physical requirements. Arian Moore, speaking from lived experience, described how assistive technologies and simple adjustments can enable people to perform many roles. Paloma Sparks of Oregon Business and Industry thanked the sponsor for working with stakeholders but urged changes to avoid implying employers intentionally screen out applicants and cautioned that permitting attorneys or union representatives could make accommodation discussions adversarial.
The public hearing closed with committee members proposing follow-up work on guidance, definitions of "undue hardship," and the interactive accommodation process. No vote was taken at the hearing.
