Oregon Supreme Court to Review Scope of Employer Liability Law

Oregon's statutory Employer Liability Law (ELL) (ORS 654.305) makes indirect employers liable for an employee's injuries under certain circumstances.[1] An indirect employer is one who: "(1) is engaged with the plaintiff's direct employer in a common enterprise; (2) retains the right to control the manner or method in which the risk-producing activity was performed; or (3) actually controls the manner or method in which the risk producing activity is performed."[2] This law is important for project owners because, depending on the facts, it can make them liable if a contractor's employee is injured on the jobsite. It can also put contractors at risk of liability for on-the-job injuries suffered by other contractors' employees.

In Bock v. Vigor Works LLC, the Oregon Court of Appeals concluded that the trial court improperly dismissed an ELL claim by the employee of one contractor (FSW) asserted against another contractor (Vigor). The employee was injured when his coworker accidently hit a track hoe controller, causing it to drop the track hoe's buck on the employee's back and shoulder, injuring him.[3]

The Court of Appeals relied on evidence that the contract between Vigor and FSW required FSW to ensure that any of its employees working in an area that Vigor controlled would comply with Vigor's safety and security guidelines for that area.[4] The court was also persuaded by a contractual provision that gave Vigor the right to inspect FSW's work, and deposition testimony that FSW would follow Vigor's directives on the job.[5]

On March 26, 2026, the Oregon Supreme Court agreed to review the Oregon Court of Appeals' decision.[6] The Oregon Supreme Court agreed to decide three specific issues related to ELL liability: (1) to what extent the indirect employer's right to control must be causally linked to the employee's injury, (2) to what extent the indirect employer can be liable if it has no specialized knowledge germane to the risk-producing activity, and (3) to what extent general facility-wide safety guidelines evidence a right to control.

The Oregon Supreme Court's decision will likely affect the extent to which project owners and contractors are liable under the ELL moving forward. Stay tuned but be patient—about a year often passes from the time the Oregon Supreme Court agrees to review a case until it issues its decision.

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If you have any questions relating to the review of the Oregon Court of Appeals' decision, please contact Blake Robinson or another member of our construction & government contracts or employment, benefits & immigration teams. To stay informed, sign up for our alerts.