Section 181A.520 - Certification of corrections officers(1) Except for a person who has requested and obtained an extension pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, a person may not be employed as a corrections officer by a law enforcement unit for more than one year unless the person is a citizen of the United States or a nonimmigrant legally admitted to the United States under a Compact of Free Association, and:(a) The person has been certified as being qualified as a corrections officer under the provisions of ORS 181A.355 to 181A.689 and the certification has not lapsed or been revoked pursuant to ORS 181A.630, 181A.640 and 181A.650(1) and not been reissued under ORS 181A.650(2); or(b) The person is exempted from the certification requirement under ORS 181A.420(1) and (2).(2) The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, upon the facts contained in an affidavit accompanying the request for an extension, may find good cause for failure to obtain certification within the time period described in subsection (1) of this section. If the department finds that there is good cause for failure to timely obtain certification, the department may extend for up to one year the period that a person may serve as a corrections officer without certification. The grant or denial of an extension is within the sole discretion of the department.(3) The certification of a corrections officer shall lapse upon the passage of more than three consecutive months during which period the officer is not employed as a corrections officer, unless the corrections officer is on leave from a law enforcement unit. Upon reemployment as a corrections officer, the person whose certification has lapsed may apply for certification in the manner provided in ORS 181A.355 to 181A.689.(4) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, a person employed as a corrections officer by a law enforcement unit shall commence the training necessary for certification under ORS 181A.355 to 181A.689 not later than the 90th day after the date of the officer's employment by the law enforcement unit at an academy operated or authorized by the department in consultation with the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training.(5) A law enforcement unit may delay the commencement of training of a corrections officer for up to 120 days from the date of the officer's employment when the law enforcement unit considers the delay necessary. When a law enforcement unit delays commencement of a corrections officer's training under this subsection, the law enforcement unit shall file a written statement of its reasons with the department.(6) When a delay in the commencement of training necessary for certification under ORS 181A.355 to 181A.689 at an academy operated or authorized by the department is caused by the inability of the department, for any reason, to provide that training, the period of the delay may not be counted as part of the periods set forth in subsections (4) and (5) of this section within which the training must be commenced.Amended by 2017 Ch. 53,§ 3, eff. 1/1/2018.