Suing a Government Employer in Oregon? Don't Miss This Critical Deadline.
If you work for a city, county, school district, state agency, or any other government employer in Oregon, and you believe your rights have been violated, there is a procedural step you must take for your claims to be heard. It's submitting a Tort Claim Notice, and it's required by Oregon law ORS 30.275. Many public employees lose their claims entirely, not because they lacked a strong case, but because they didn't know this requirement existed. Here's what you need to know.
What Is a Tort Claim Notice?
The Oregon Tort Claims Act (OTCA) requires anyone bringing a state law claim against a public body (or its officers, employees, or agents) to formally notify the public body of legal claims within a tight deadline. Miss the deadline for this notice, and your state law claims are likely to be dismissed.
What Must the Notice Include, and Where Do You Send It?
You must include:
Your name and mailing address
A statement that you are or will be asserting a damages claim against the public body or one of its employees
A description of the time, place, and circumstances that gave rise to your claim
Send your notice to:
The Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for claims against the State.
The public body at its principal administrative office, to any member of its governing body, or to its designated general counsel for claims against other public bodies (like a county or city).
When in doubt, send it to all of them. And always use certified mail, return receipt requested. You will want to have proof that the notice was delivered.
The Deadline is Just 180 Days
For most employment claims against an Oregon public body, you must give proper notice within 180 days. For employment claims like retaliation, discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination, that clock typically starts running on the date of the adverse action: the day you were fired, demoted, or otherwise harmed. If you fail to provide notice within 180 days, in most cases you will lose your state law claims. There are very limited exceptions , such as if the injured person is a minor, is legally incompetent, or was physically incapacitated by the government's own conduct, but these are narrow. Don’t count on an exception applying to you. One hundred eighty days may sound like a long time, but it passes fast.
Limited Exceptions
You can also satisfy the notice requirement by commencing a lawsuit within the applicable time limit, or if the public body pays all or a portion of your claims at any time. Finally, you can also satisfy the notice requirement if the public body has “actual notice” of your claims, This occurs when you can show that a person authorized to receive notice on behalf of the public body (or a person responsible for administering tort claims) acquired actual knowledge of the time, place, and circumstances giving rise to your claim, through a communication that would lead a reasonable person to conclude you intend to assert legal claims. In plain English: if the government already knows what happened, when it happened, and that you're planning to pursue a claim, that may satisfy the notice requirement even without a formal written notice. But you are in a much better position if you don’t have to try and prove actual notice because you submitted a proper notice within 180 days of the adverse employment action.
The Bottom Line
If you have a claim against a government employer in Oregon, protecting your rights almost always starts with submitting a tort claim notice. Submit a notice of tort claim within 180 days of an adverse employment action to preserve your claims. You aren’t required to be a lawyer or have a lawyer to satisfy the notice requirement, but the deadline applies either way. Missing the deadline doesn't just weaken your state law claims; it likely ends them.
Munsinger Law represents employees in employment and civil rights disputes in Oregon and Washington. Learn more about us at www.munsinger.law.