Oregon Campaign for Just Cause

On November 3, 2026, Oregon voters may have the opportunity to approve a fundamental revision in the employment laws of that state. That revision would reverse a doctrine that has been adopted in all but one American state, and that has been used to destroy labor unions, weaken the protections adopted by the Congress and the Oregon legislature, and impair the respect that American workers receive for the work they perform.

The doctrine has a name: employment at will. It was first articulated in a treatise on employment rights in 1877, written by a railroad lawyer, and it was soon adopted as part of the legal regime supporting the Industrial Revolution. The doctrine claims that every employment for an indefinite period of time – that is, virtually every job in America – can be terminated at the will of the employer, without a reason, at any time, with no right to recover damages. The prior rule was that every “hiring” would be for a period of one year.

The new doctrine of employment at will has been rejected by every other industrialized nation. In the U.S., only Montana and Puerto Rico require that every contract of employment can be terminated only for just cause. Under this doctrine, employees have no protection from being fired for arbitrary reasons, without any prior warning or prior discipline, even if they have worked effectively for their employers for years. Some employers have established policies and procedures that seem to promise fair treatment, but then state that those provisions are not contractual and cannot be the basis for a lawsuit.

According to a recent national survey of workers:

• 69% of workers said their employment was terminated for no reason or for what they claimed to be an unfair reason
• 75% of workers were fired without warning or any opportunity to improve their work performance

Workers routinely accept demeaning, unsafe or even dangerous working conditions to avoid being disciplined or fired:

• 59% of workers have skipped work breaks
• 57% of them have worked overtime when they would have preferred not to work
• 44% of workers have put up with verbal abuse from a manager or supervisor
• 35% of workers have worked under dangerous or unsafe conditions
• 33% of them accepted less pay than what was owed to them

This affects the health and safety of workers. In order to avoid being disciplined:

• 66% of workers have worked while sick or injured
• 47% of them postponed medical care
• 45% of them neglected important family responsibilities or events

Oregon Initiative 36, if adopted by the voters, would eliminate the doctrine of at will, and would restore the respect that Oregon workers deserve. It would require that all Oregon employees, other than seasonal employees and employees hired for a specific term, would have four rights:

A property right to employment. All Oregon employers could impose disciplinary procedures or discharge only based on (a) just cause and due process, and providing (b) a severance payment. Employers would need to provide notice and adequate training on work rules, apply those work rules reasonably and consistently, perform a sufficient and fair investigation, and discipline employees appropriately and proportionately.

A right to good faith notice. Employers would need to notify employees before disciplining or discharging them, inform them of the nature of the investigation and of the alleged facts, and complete any investigation within a reasonable amount of time.

A right to association. Employees would be entitled to representation before being required to answer questions. Interviews generally will be conducted during working hours.

A right to security. Employees will be entitled to severance pay from the date of hire, unless for a seasonal layoff.

A right to remedy. Employees shall have a private right of action to seek relief and compensation for severe disciplinary action without just cause, and to seek just compensation severance, including prevailing plaintiff attorney fees.

The proponents for Oregon Initiative 36 are now working to gather no less than 156,231 petition signatures to get that measure on the November 2026 ballot. Working with their allies in the labor union movement, Jobs with Justice, the National Employment Law Project, the Democratic Party of Oregon, Democratic Socialists of America and Democratic Socialists of America, they will be circulating petitions at events in Oregon and doing other canvassing in the next four months. That will include the No Kings marches on March 28, the Portland Rose Festival, sports events, county fairs, farmers’ markets, and every place that people come to gather and to enjoy the spring and early summer weather.

This initiative will have strong bipartisan support. Just-cause policies are supported by 66% of all workers, including by:

• 61% of Republican workers
• 66% of Democratic workers
• 72% of independent workers

This point is worth repeating. We are living in a time of intense political polarization in the United States. 64% of voters feel that the American political system is too politically divided to solve the nation’s problems. 80% of all adults feel that members of the opposite political party not only disagree about plans and policies, but cannot agree on basic facts.

Nearly half of adults feel that members of the opposing political party are “downright evil.” In this climate, it is remarkable that nearly identical percentages of workers from both political parties support just-cause policies. In fact, support for this pro-worker measure is strongest among independents, not by political partisans! Those policies are supported by two-thirds of all workers!

You can donate funds to support this effort at www.OUJC.org/Give. Donations are not tax-deductible. We encourage you to support this important initiative.

Written By Barry Roseman, Stand Up For Workers Board Member