Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 147 § 147.115 — Confidentiality of application information; board proceedings; use of record;

Confidentiality of application information; board proceedings; use of record; witnesses before board. (1) All information submitted to the Department of Justice by an applicant and all hearings of the Workers’ Compensation Board under ORS 147.005 to 147.367 shall be open to the public unless the department or board determines that the information shall be kept confidential or that a closed hearing shall be held because: (a) The alleged assailant has not been brought to trial and disclosure of the information or a public hearing would adversely affect either the apprehension or the trial of the alleged assailant; (b) The offense allegedly perpetrated against the victim is rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, trafficking in persons or a crime involving domestic violence as defined in ORS 135.230, and the interests of the victim or of the victim’s dependents require that the information be kept confidential or that the public be excluded from the hearing; (c) The victim or alleged assailant is a minor; or (d) The interests of justice would be frustrated rather than furthered, if the information were disclosed or if the hearing were open to the public. (2)(a) A record shall be kept of the proceedings held before the board and shall include the board’s findings of fact and conclusions concerning the amount of compensation, if any, to which the applicant and the dependents of a deceased victim are entitled. (b) No part of the record of any proceedings before the board may be used for any purpose in a criminal proceeding except in the prosecution of a person alleged to have committed perjury in testimony before the board. (c) Where the interests of justice require, the board may refuse to disclose to the public the names of victims or other material in the record by which the identity of the victim could be discovered. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2)(b) and (c) of this section, the record of the proceedings held before the board is a public record. However, any record or report obtained by the board, the confidentiality of which is protected by any other law, shall remain confidential subject to such law. (4) Witnesses required to appear at any proceeding before the board shall receive such fees and mileage allowance as are provided for witnesses in ORS 44.415 (2). [1977 c.376 §9; 1989 c.980 §7a; 2012 c.81 §10; 2023 c.318 §6]