All Oregonians have the right to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any place of public accommodation, without any distinction, discrimination or restriction on account of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital status or age (above 18).
A place of public accommodation, includes, but is not limited to, any place or service offering to the public accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges whether in the nature of goods, services, lodgings, amusements, transportation or otherwise.
A place of public accommodation does not include: Department of Corrections institutions and state hospitals, youth correctional facilities, or institutions, bona fide clubs or place of accommodation that is in its nature distinctly private.
Time limits
You must file a Complaint within one year of the date of any discriminatory action/harm. BOLI can only investigate unlawful discrimination that has occurred within one year from the date of the unlawful act. Please submit your questionnaire as soon as possible to allow time for the intake interview, drafting of the charge, sending/receiving time, signing and notarization and returning to BOLI before the one year anniversary. For cases alleging a violation of public accommodation laws, the right to file suit in state circuit court expires one year from the date of the alleged violation.
What is the questionnaire
The questionnaire is a form which assists the intake staff in determining whether the division has jurisdiction to investigate the claims, and if so, the information provided on this form will be used to draft the complaint. If you file a formal complaint, the questionnaire will become part of a public record once the case is closed.
Filling out the questionnaire
You must complete all applicable portions of this questionnaire. Additional documents are not required at this stage.
Procedure
Submitting your questionnaire is the first step in the Civil Rights complaint process. A questionnaire is not a complaint. After you have submitted your questionnaire, it will be assigned to an intake officer for further review.
If there is not enough information in the questionnaire for the intake officer to determine whether the Civil Rights Division can accept a complaint, you may receive a letter informing you that we are unable to proceed with your complaint. Please provide more information to the contact person identified in the letter to help us determine if we can help.
You may also receive a letter indicating that the Civil Rights Division is unable to investigate your complaint because your complaint is not based on a law we enforce, or the situation occurred too long ago. Please speak with an attorney about your rights.
If the information you provided in the questionnaire indicates that the Civil Rights Division may be able to investigate, an intake officer will either write a formal complaint for you or contact you for further information to assist them with writing your formal complaint. Once the formal complaint is written, it will be sent to you to review and sign. A complaint is not filed until BOLI has received a signed complaint from you.
Currently, the Civil Rights Division has a high volume of questionnaires waiting to be assigned to an intake officer. Please be sure that you have entered the date of the most recent adverse action as accurately as possible and have filled out all fields in the questionnaire to the best of your ability. Please contact us if there are any significant changes related to your case. Your inquiry is important to us; thank you for your patience.
Contact information
It is your responsibility to contact this office in writing advising us of changes in your address or phone number.
Private attorney
You may consult an attorney at any time before or during a civil rights investigation. Your attorney may also draft and submit your complaint, but it must contain your signature. You are not required to retain an attorney. You may wish to contact the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral program at 503-684-3763 or 1-800-452-7636.