Opinion ID: 1364283
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Prior to 1973.

Text: In 1949 the Oregon legislature first enacted a statute relating to and providing for the elimination of certain practices of discrimination because of race, color, religion or national origin. (Or. Laws 1949, ch. 221; now ORS ch. 659.) That statute provided that any person claiming to be aggrieved by an act of discrimination designated as an unlawful employment practice may file a complaint with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor (§ 6; ORS 659.040) and that after the filing of any complaint the commissioner shall cause prompt investigation to be made (§ 7; ORS 659.050). That statute also provided that if the Commissioner found that the complaint was supported by any substantial evidence and was then unable to eliminate the unlawful practice complained of by negotiation, he shall cause written notice to be served on the employer and hold a hearing (§ 7; ORS 659.050 and 659.060). If he found that the employer had engaged in an unlawful employment practice, he was to issue a cease and desist order, and if no discrimination was found he was to issue an order dismissing the complaint (§ 7; ORS 659.060). The statute also provided that any such order was appealable by any party aggrieved to the circuit court, and was also enforceable by mandamus or injunction §§ 8 and 9; ORS 659.070 and ORS 659.080). No reference was made in that statute, however, to discrimination in employment against employees for filing claims for workers' compensation. Some of these sections in ORS ch. 659 were amended in 1957 and 1961, but not in any manner of significance to the issues of this case. ( See Or. Laws 1957, ch. 724, §§ 6, 7 and 8; Or. Laws 1961, ch. 145, §§ 1 and 2.) The statute was further amended in 1963 in an attempt to provide more workable remedies, to clarify and codify the hodge-podge of existing sections on Civil Rights (including those relating to the functions of the Commissioner), and to give formal legal status to the conciliation agreement. ( See explanation of House Bill 1394 by Norman O. Nilsen, Labor Commissioner.) The procedures of the 1949 statute referred to above, including the requirement that the Commissioner shall investigate all complaints of discrimination, were not substantially changed insofar as they relate to the problems presented by this case. See Or. Laws 1963, ch. 622, §§ 6, 7, 10 and 11, and ORS 659.050 and ORS 659.060.) The 1963 bill also included a provision to the effect that one of its purposes was to provide an adequate remedy for persons aggrieved by certain acts of discrimination because of race, religion, color or national origin or unreasonable acts of discrimination in employment based upon age and to provide an adequate administrative machinery for the resolution of complaints of such discrimination. ( See Or. Laws 1963, ch. 622, § 2, and ORS 659.022(2) and (3).) Again, however, we note that at that time ORS ch. 659 included no provision relating to the discharge of an employee for filing a claim for workers' compensation. In 1971 the legislature amended ORS 659.050 to provide that upon the filing of a complaint of an alleged unlawful employment practice the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor  may,  instead of shall, cause an investigation to be made of such a complaint and that if such an investigation discloses any substantial evidence supporting the complaint he  may,  instead of shall, take steps to effect a settlement of the complaint and eliminate the effects of the unlawful practice (Or. Laws 1971, ch. 723, § 2; ORS 659.050). No direct explanation for that change appears in the legislative history of the bill other than the statements that the bill came from the Civil Rights Task Force and changes some of the procedures to make the program more workable (Hearings on HB 3056, House Judiciary Committee, May 19, 1971, p. 1) and that the bill make(s) investigation procedures of [the] civil rights division more effective (Hearings on HB 3056, Senate State & Federal Affairs Committee, May 28, 1971, p. 4).