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Committee adopts amendment to clarify companionship‑services exclusion, sends SB 15‑18 to Senate floor
Summary
The Senate Committee on Labor and Business adopted a dash‑1 amendment to SB 15‑18 clarifying when companionship services are excluded from minimum‑wage and overtime protections and moved the bill to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
The Senate Committee on Labor and Business on Feb. 4 adopted a dash‑1 amendment to Senate Bill 15‑18 and recommended the measure to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
The amendment clarifies that the statutory exclusion for "companionship services" follows the federal definition in 29 C.F.R. 552.6 as of Jan. 1, 2016, and that the exclusion does not apply when a worker is employed by a third party business that provides home‑care or companionship services. Whitney, the committee staff analyst, told the committee the dash‑1 replaces the placeholder language and is intended to align state practice with the federal rule.
Paloma Sparks of Oregon Business and Industry told the committee employers ‘‘do not have objections’’ to the policy as drafted but asked the committee to confirm the amendment reflects its intent. Alice Longley Miller of SEIU Local 503 said the language preserves Oregon protections if the federal standard changes, and urged the committee to maintain overtime and other labor protections for home‑care workers.
Josh Nasby of the Bureau of Labor and Industries confirmed his reading that the amendment maintains the status quo—workers who perform companionship services for individuals or families remain exempt unless employed by a third party.
Home‑care workers who testified described physically and emotionally demanding duties and urged passage. Crystal Dejarniak of SEIU said the jobs ‘‘are harder than it is to do retail’’ and asked lawmakers to ‘‘pass this’’ to protect workers’ pay and overtime.
Vice Chair Hayden moved to adopt the dash‑1 amendment and, after no objection was recorded, the committee adopted the amendment and moved SB 15‑18 as amended to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The committee did not record a roll‑call vote; the actions were taken by voice consent. Chair Taylor was named carrier for the bill.
The committee will transmit the amended measure to the Senate for further consideration.
