Translation and interpreting services in Medford

Language access rules in Oregon

Court interpreter program

Oregon Judicial Department, Court Language Access Services (CLAS) in Salem, which coordinates interpreting in the circuit courts in more than 170 languages and for Deaf and hard of hearing people, with OJD employing schedulers and full-time Oregon Certified Spanish and ASL interpreters and contracting with freelance interpreters; CLAS also runs the Certification and Training Program.

Court-certified languages

CLAS credentials Oregon Certified and Registered Court Interpreters, with more than 100 interpreters of Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, and other languages currently certified or registered; under ORS 45.291 the State Court Administrator sets competency requirements, ethics training, examinations, and certificate categories, and may certify interpreters certified in good standing by the federal courts or by a state with an equivalent certification program.

The rule

ORS 45.275 requires the court to appoint a qualified interpreter in any civil or criminal proceeding, and a hearing officer to do so in any adjudicatory proceeding, whenever needed to interpret for a non-English-speaking party or witness or for a non-English-speaking crime victim exercising constitutional rights in open court, with no fee charged to the person; ORS 45.285 does the same for parties, witnesses, and victims who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment.

Health care interpreters from the state registry

ORS 413.559 (2021) requires every health care provider to work with an interpreter from the Oregon Health Authority's health care interpreter registry when communicating with a patient who prefers a language other than English, unless the doctor or clinician is proficient in that language, the provider verifies it took the steps required to get a registry interpreter, or the patient declines a registry interpreter and chooses another; providers must also log each registry-interpreter encounter's interpreter name, registry number, and language.

Interpretation company obligations

Under ORS 413.563, interpretation service companies may not place a health care interpreter who is not on the state registry unless the provider could not get a registry interpreter and the company has none available, may not call an interpreter certified unless the Oregon Health Authority has certified them, must keep records of each encounter showing the interpreter's name and registry number, and may not make interpreters supply their own personal protective equipment as a condition of a referral.

Uncertified court interpreters on the record

Under ORS 45.275(7), anyone interpreting for an Oregon court or agency must state on the record whether they are certified under ORS 45.291, and an uncertified interpreter must take the ORS 40.325 oath and put their qualifications on the record.

Medicaid interpreter scheduling portal

ORS 413.564 (2024) directs the Oregon Health Authority to maintain an online interpreter management system that lets providers and coordinated care organizations schedule certified and qualified health care interpreters for Oregon Health Plan members and process their billing and payment.

Health care interpreter bargaining unit

Under ORS 413.562 (2019), health care interpreters in Oregon may bargain collectively as a single statewide unit with the State of Oregon as employer of record for bargaining purposes only, with the Department of Administrative Services negotiating for the state.