By Oregon Small Business Association Although Multnomah County restaurants area can reopen to serve customers indoors, many owners and operators hesitate to invest in rehiring workers and restocking kitchens when a spike in coronavirus cases could force them to shut their doors again. The uncertainty for restaurant owners, who have […]

National Federation of Independent Business The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) sent a letter to the United States House of Representatives Small Business Committee urging Congress to extend the authorization for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) beyond March 31, 2021. NFIB included additional recommendations for the committee to consider. […]

Oregon Attorney General Press Release, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum today announced $105,600 in settlements with four different hotels and motels in Oregon due to price gouging during and in the aftermath of the 2020 wildfires in Oregon. On top of that, at least 100 Oregon families who were overcharged […]

California Family Rights Act Expanded to Include More Northwest Employers By Charlotte Hodde & Julie Preciado Bullard Law NW Law firm, On January 1, 2021, California Senate Bill 1383 went into effect, expanding the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) – the California counterpart to the Oregon Family Leave Act (“OFLA”). […]

By Vlad Yurlov Cascade Policy Institute Why is “affordable housing” so expensive? Many politicians, bureaucrats, and affordable housing advocates treat the question as one of life’s many mysteries. But it’s really not that mysterious. Many regulations governing public projects add up, piece by piece, to affordable housing’s staggering price tags. […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon office of Economic Analysis, Women suffered disproportionate layoffs and higher unemployment rates at the start of the pandemic. However since last spring, much of the gender gap in employment has effectively closed. As of January 2021, male employment in the U.S. was down 5 percent, while […]

By US Chamber of Commerce, The following statement can be attributed to Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Since the introduction of the American Rescue Plan, we have learned that personal savings have grown substantially with Americans saving almost $3 trillion since the […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Employers reported 44,400 job openings at any given time in 2020. This is a decrease of 22% from the 2019 level of vacancies. 2020 was not a typical year for Oregon businesses, yet many of the characteristics Oregon employers were looking for didn’t change much during […]

By Josh Lehner, Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Our office remains very concerned about business closures and permanent layoffs. The more of this economic scarring that accumulates before the recovery can truly get underway will weigh on the strength of that recovery. The pandemic has impacted all aspects of the […]

By Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio, IRS Enhancement and Tax Gap Reduction Act Would Help IRS Collect Underpaid Taxes from Wealthiest Earners and Corporations, Shrink “Tax Gap” In the face of an economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-04) will reintroduce legislation that will help the […]