By Josh Lehner Oregon office of Economic Analysis Our office continues to get asked about the potential impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economy. Long story short is that it is still too early to tell how much economic fallout will occur given the ongoing public health developments as […]

By Kathryn M. Hindman & Liani J. Reeves By Liani J. Reeves and Kathryn M. Hindman Bullard Law, As people flock to grocery stores to stock up on toilet paper and hand soap, employers should brace themselves for the unknowns ahead associated with the coronavirus. Background According to the Center […]

Oregon U.S. District Attorney release, Susan Tranberg, 61, of Eugene, Oregon, pleaded guilty in federal court to mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax evasion after defrauding her former employer, the Weyerhaeuser Company, out of more than $4.5 million. “Susan Tranberg used her intimate knowledge of the Weyerhaeuser Company to […]

Wall Street Editorial, The Supreme Court hears what may be its most important case of the year on Tuesday (3/3), and don’t stop reading because it concerns the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This one goes to the heart of the separation of powers and whether the administrative state is accountable […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s unemployment rate declined to 3.3 percent in January, the lowest on comparable records dating back to 1976. The December unemployment rate was revised downward to 3.4 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in January. Annual revisions to the labor force data show that […]

(Photo: WildFang T-shirt) By Oregon Small Business Association, Wildfang, a company started in Portland in 2013, has filed a lawsuit against Target alleging the department store chain’s new Wild Fable clothing line infringes on its trademark. In a lawsuit filed Feb. 4 in the U.S. District Court of Oregon, Wildfang […]

Oregon US Senator Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will fine wireless companies for failing to protect users’ location data: “Based on today’s news reports, it seems clear Chairman Pai has failed to protect American consumers at […]

By Rachel Dawson Cascade Policy Institute The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), the agency charged with building and maintaining the city’s transportation system, is shifting the responsibility of improving traffic congestion away from itself and onto individual residents. This was made apparent in a recently released 2018 report provided by […]

By National Federation Independent Business, NFIB issued the following statement from Karen Harned, Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center in response to the National Labor Relation Board’s final rule, governing the joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act: “Uncertainty costs small businesses precious time and money, […]

Josh Lehner Oregon office of Economic Analysis Like the nation overall, Oregon is transitioning down to more sustainable rates of growth. Job gains are roughly in-line with what underlying demographics suggest the state needs to hold the unemployment rate steady. Eventually the cyclical drivers of growth will slow further and […]