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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 657.610 (2026)

Director; powers and duties; rules

✓ current as of May 2026
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      657.610 Director; powers and duties; rules. The Director of the Employment Department may:

      (1) For purposes of administration and control, and with the approval of the Governor, organize and reorganize the department in whatever manner the director considers appropriate to carry out the duties, functions and powers of the department.

      (2) Appoint all subordinate officers and employees of the department, whether classified or unclassified, and prescribe their duties and compensation, subject to applicable provisions of the State Personnel Relations Law.

      (3) Delegate to departmental officers and employees such responsibility and authority as the director determines necessary.

      (4)(a) Determine all questions of general policy for this chapter and for the provisions of ORS chapter 657B that are administered by the director;

      (b) Adopt rules for this chapter and for the provisions of ORS chapter 657B that are administered by the director; and

      (c) Administer and enforce this chapter and the provisions of ORS chapter 657B that are administered by the director.

      (5) Sue and be sued in the name of the director, and shall have a seal bearing the name of the Employment Department.

      (6) Adopt proper rules to regulate the mode and manner of all investigations.

      (7) Prescribe the time, place and manner of making claims for benefits under this chapter and ORS chapter 657B, the kind and character of notices required thereunder and the procedure for investigating and deciding claims.

      (8) Enter into contracts relating to the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act deemed necessary by the director to fulfill the mission of the department. The director may enter into contracts with other states or governments, public bodies or persons to provide or receive services. Contracts entered into by the director shall be executed in the name of the state, by and through the Employment Department. [Amended by 1959 c.583 §23; 1969 c.597 §180; 1983 c.522 §7; 1993 c.344 §6; 1999 c.849 §§137,138; 2001 c.684 §§32,33; 2003 c.75 §52; 2003 c.199 §§1,2; 2015 c.27 §58; 2017 c.185 §17; 2017 c.297 §38; 2025 c.43 §1]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases, 1970–2013 · leading case: McPherson v. Emp. Div., 591 P.2d 1381 (Or. 1979).
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McPherson v. Emp. Div., 591 P.2d 1381 (Or. 1979). · cites it 4× “" ORS 657.610. Determinations with respect to a particular claimant's eligibility are made by the assistant director's "authorized representative," ORS 657.”
Johnson v. Emp. Dep't, 67 P.3d 984 (Or. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 4× “If the determination is contested, it becomes the subject of a hearing before a referee, who is appointed by the [director].”
Trebesch v. Emp. Div., 710 P.2d 136 (Or. 1985). · cites it 2× “” ORS 657.610. Although the initial decisionmakers, the referees and the EAB are authorized to issue orders, the assistant director’s powers are broader.”
Trebesch v. Emp. Div., 683 P.2d 1018 (Or. Ct. App. 1984). · cites it 2× “610(1), and we need apply the McPherson-Springfield analysis no further than to determine whether the term “systematic and sustained effort to obtain work” is of such precise meaning as to require only fact-finding to apply it. The basic standard for unemployment compensation…”
Oliver v. Emp. Div., 595 P.2d 1252 (Or. Ct. App. 1979). “ORS 657.610(1) provides: "The administrator shall determine all questions of general policy and promulgate rules and regulations and be responsible for the administration of this chapter.”
Bunnell v. Emp. Div., 741 P.2d 887 (Or. 1987). “” Pursuant to ORS 657.610(1), the Assistant Director of Employment promulgated administrative rule OAR 471-30-038(3), which defines such misconduct as follows: “[M]isconduct is a wilful violation of the standards of behavior which an employer has the right to expect of an…”
Vic Coburn Evangelistic Ass'n v. Emp. Div., 582 P.2d 51 (Or. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 2× “Pursuant to ORS 657.610(1), 2 the Employment Division promulgated OAR 471-31-090(l)(a) which provides as follows: "(1) As used in ORS 657.”
Stevenson v. Morgan, 522 P.2d 1204 (Or. Ct. App. 1974). “280 states that the conduct of hearings before the referee and an appeal to the Board shall be in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Administrator of the Employment Division as authorized by ORS 657.610. The previous rules promulgated by the administrator provided…”
Marella v. Emp. Dep't & Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., 194 P.3d 849 (Or. Ct. App. 2008). “To resolve this assignment of error, we begin by determining whether the EAB erroneously interpreted the phrase “good cause.”
Emp. Div. v. Scott Mach. Co., 616 P.2d 521 (Or. Ct. App. 1980). “285 Or at 551 ; ORS 657.610. In Oliver , this court held that the Division must define those terms for which it is responsible in reasonably specific rules.”
Smithee v. Emp. Dep't, 208 P.3d 965 (Or. Ct. App. 2009). “OAR 471-030-0038 contains that definition. We look to the rule, then, to determine the meaning of “misconduct connected with work.”
Newport Church of the Nazarene v. Hensley, 983 P.2d 1072 (Or. Ct. App. 1999). “See ORS 657.610(4) (the Department may “[determine all questions of general policy and promulgate rules and regulations”).”
Show all 18 citing cases →
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 657.610(1) — 4 cases
Trebesch v. Emp. Div., 683 P.2d 1018 (Or. Ct. App. 1984). “610(1), and we need apply the McPherson-Springfield analysis no further than to determine whether the term “systematic and sustained effort to obtain work” is of such precise meaning as to require only fact-finding to apply it. The basic standard for unemployment compensation…”
Oliver v. Emp. Div., 595 P.2d 1252 (Or. Ct. App. 1979). “ORS 657.610(1) provides: "The administrator shall determine all questions of general policy and promulgate rules and regulations and be responsible for the administration of this chapter.”
Bunnell v. Emp. Div., 741 P.2d 887 (Or. 1987). “” Pursuant to ORS 657.610(1), the Assistant Director of Employment promulgated administrative rule OAR 471-30-038(3), which defines such misconduct as follows: “[M]isconduct is a wilful violation of the standards of behavior which an employer has the right to expect of an…”
Vic Coburn Evangelistic Ass'n v. Emp. Div., 582 P.2d 51 (Or. Ct. App. 1978). “Pursuant to ORS 657.610(1), 2 the Employment Division promulgated OAR 471-31-090(l)(a) which provides as follows: "(1) As used in ORS 657.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 657.610(4) — 3 cases
Newport Church of the Nazarene v. Hensley, 983 P.2d 1072 (Or. Ct. App. 1999). “See ORS 657.610(4) (the Department may “[determine all questions of general policy and promulgate rules and regulations”).”
Lechner v. Emp. Dep't, 897 P.2d 1194 (Or. Ct. App. 1995).
Franklin v. Emp. Dep't, 294 P.3d 554 (Or. Ct. App. 2013).
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 657.610(4)(b) — 3 cases
Marella v. Emp. Dep't & Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., 194 P.3d 849 (Or. Ct. App. 2008). “To resolve this assignment of error, we begin by determining whether the EAB erroneously interpreted the phrase “good cause.”
Smithee v. Emp. Dep't, 208 P.3d 965 (Or. Ct. App. 2009). “OAR 471-030-0038 contains that definition. We look to the rule, then, to determine the meaning of “misconduct connected with work.”
Cummings v. Emp. Dep't, 230 P.3d 83 (Or. Ct. App. 2010).
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