OAR 839-005-0005: Unlawful Discrimination Defined

(1) To discriminate means to make a distinction between individuals or groups based on common characteristics, real or perceived. Certain kinds of discrimination are unlawful. Oregon civil rights laws generally prohibit making decisions in employment, housing, places of public accommodation and career schools because an individual is a member of a class protected by these statutes. (2) When an individual files a complaint with the division alleging unlawful discrimination, the division must determine whether substantial evidence of such discrimination exists. (3) That a private employer may give employment preference in the hiring or promotion of employees under OL Ch. 86, Sec. 2 2014 (persons in uniformed service and their widows and widowers) does not preclude the filing of a complaint under ORS chapter 659A.