Oregon background check laws
A practitioner-grade reference to Oregon pre-employment background screening: lookback caps, ban-the-box scope, salary-history limits, cannabis testing rules, and the statutes the SafestHires compliance team applies on every order routed to OR.
The four levers at a glance
| Lookback period | 7 years (FCRA default) |
| Ban-the-Box scope | Statewide (ORS §659A.360) |
| Salary history | Banned (ORS §652.220) |
| Cannabis testing | Recreational legal; no statewide off-duty protection |
Lookback period
Oregon applies FCRA. Expunged records under ORS §137.225 must be suppressed.
Ban-the-Box and Fair Chance rules
Employers may not inquire about criminal history before an initial interview or, if none, before a conditional offer.
Salary history
Employers may not screen based on prior compensation or seek salary history from prior employers.
Cannabis & drug testing
ORS §659A.315 carves cannabis out of off-duty-use protections; employers may enforce zero-tolerance policies.
Governing statutes & references
- ORS §659A.360
- ORS §652.220
- ORS §659A.315
SafestHires compliance note
Off-duty cannabis use is not protected despite recreational legalization.
City-level overlays in Oregon
The following city or county ordinances impose additional fair-chance, ban-the-box, or individualized-assessment duties on top of Oregon state law. Click through for covered-employer thresholds, timing, adverse-action workflows, and enforcement details.