U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Small Business Policy released the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce applauds this evening’s Senate passage of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act that will […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis The economy faces years of high unemployment which directly translates into reduced revenues for public services. While the baseline forecast is our outlook for the most likely path of the Oregon economy, many other scenarios are possible. Given the uncertainty about the […]

By Steve Elzinga From Sherman Sherman Johnnie and Hoyt May 6, 2020 Update: One day after this blog post, the Oregonian published an article that appeared to be based partly on this post. The Department of Revenue has now decided that forgiven PPP loans will not be subject to the commercial activity tax. […]

By US Senator Ron Wyden, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said he has introduced a bipartisan bill that would protect recovery payments provided in the recent CARES Act pandemic response legislation from garnishment by private debt collectors. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis. Relief was intended for struggling families, not predatory […]

One-quarter of small-business borrowers anticipate needing additional help By Oregon NFIB, As applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans slow, the nation’s leading small-business association today released the results of a comprehensive survey of its members about how these loans are being used, the effect they’re having, and challenges owners […]

By US Chamber of Commerce, American businesses are working hard to take measures to protect their employees and customers amid the COVID-19 crisis, however the risk of opportunistic lawsuits poses a significant barrier in their ability to bounce back from the economic crisis. As businesses start to reopen, employers simply […]

By Oregon Employment Department, COVID-19 Impact April seasonally adjusted unemployment rates are not available for Oregon counties due to processing delays caused by large increases in unemployment. Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates are being used for this news release. They reflect April’s increase in unemployment related to the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis released the latest quarterly economic and revenue forecast. For the full document, slides and forecast data please see our main website. Below is the forecast’s Executive Summary. While the Covid-19 outbreak has injected a great deal […]

By Dr. Eric Fruits Cascade Policy Institute Many Oregon businesses are looking forward toward May 15. That’s the day the state expects to ease some of Governor Kate Brown’s COVID-19 “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order. But, many businesses are considering whether they should they re-open at all. Dakine is closing […]

By Gabrielle Hansen & Jeff Robertson Barran Law Firm The legal and regulatory response to COVID-19 continues to modify the compliance landscape for employers, and this includes new requirements and options for employer-sponsored health and retirement plans. Read on to learn more about some of the recent changes. Flexibility for […]