Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 659A.221 (2026)

Uniform application to all public employers; optional procedure for disclosures; rules

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ORSoregonlegislature.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

      659A.221 Uniform application to all public employers; optional procedure for disclosures; rules. (1) The Bureau of Labor and Industries by rule shall ensure that the requirements of ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224 are applied uniformly to all public employers. Each public employer may adopt rules, consistent with Bureau of Labor and Industries rules, that apply to that public employer and that also implement ORS 659A.200 to 659A.224.

      (2) A public employer may establish by rule an optional procedure whereby an employee who wishes to disclose information described in ORS 659A.203 (1)(b) may disclose information first to the supervisor, or if the supervisor is involved, to the supervisor next higher, but the employer must protect the employee against retaliatory or disciplinary action by any supervisor for such disclosure. [Formerly 659.540]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2005–2024 · leading case: Lindsey v. Clatskanie People's Util. Dist., 140 F. Supp. 3d 1077 (D. Or. 2015).
Lindsey v. Clatskanie People's Util. Dist., 140 F. Supp. 3d 1077 (D. Or. 2015). · cites it 3× “In addition, ORS 659A.221(2), also part of the Whistle-blower Law, explicitly authorizes the public employer td establish rules requiring the whistleblower to report wrongdoing to immediate supervisors first, but in those circumstances, ‘the employer must protect the employee…”
Bjurstrom v. Oregon Lottery, 120 P.3d 1235 (Or. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “In addition, ORS 659A.221(2), also part of the Whistleblower Law, explicitly authorizes the public employer to establish rules requiring the whistleblower to report wrongdoing to immediate supervisors first, but in those circumstances, “the employer must protect the employee…”
Seater v. Klamath Irrigation Dist., 560 P.3d 731 (Or. Ct. App. 2024). “221 allows public employers to establish an optional procedure whereby an employee may disclose information first to the supervisor, “or if the supervisor is involved, to the supervisor next higher,” and provides that the employee must be protected against retal- iation by any…”
Seater v. Klamath Irrigation Dist., 336 Or. App. 195 (Or. Ct. App. 2024). “221 allows public employers to establish an optional procedure whereby an employee may disclose information first to the supervisor, “or if the supervisor is involved, to the supervisor next higher,” and provides that the employee must be protected against retal- iation by any…”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 659A.221(2) — 2 cases
Lindsey v. Clatskanie People's Util. Dist., 140 F. Supp. 3d 1077 (D. Or. 2015). “In addition, ORS 659A.221(2), also part of the Whistle-blower Law, explicitly authorizes the public employer td establish rules requiring the whistleblower to report wrongdoing to immediate supervisors first, but in those circumstances, ‘the employer must protect the employee…”
Bjurstrom v. Oregon Lottery, 120 P.3d 1235 (Or. Ct. App. 2005). “In addition, ORS 659A.221(2), also part of the Whistleblower Law, explicitly authorizes the public employer to establish rules requiring the whistleblower to report wrongdoing to immediate supervisors first, but in those circumstances, “the employer must protect the employee…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.