By Oregon Employment Department, Average Hourly Wages on the Rise After years of remaining flat, average hourly wages (adjusted for inflation) have risen in 2015. In August 2015, average hourly wages in Oregon were $23.42, up from $23.16 in August 2014. This comes in part from essentially no change in […]

By Oregon NFIB, State infrastructure is in need of an overhaul, but it’s unclear where the money will come from. Oregon’s infrastructure is in poor shape and could face significant deterioration within the next two decades, according to the state’s department of transportation. Basic maintenance costs to keep Oregon bridges […]

By Dunn, Carney, Allen, Higgins & Tongue Employer Avoids Liability When Employee Refuses FMLA Leave In a recent federal case applicable to Oregon and Washington employers, Foster Farms was found not to have interfered with an employee’s rights under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when the employee […]

By U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Business Roundtable and U.S. Chamber of Commerce today released the results of a national poll of registered voters showing that three-quarters of all respondents nationwide are concerned about the employee benefits tax, a 40 percent tax on health benefits, […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Mike Rogoway has really good update on the Oregon high-tech sector in The Oregonian, and then asks the question of whether or not this growth is impacting the housing market. The answer to that question is no, or at least only […]

By Oregon NFIB Where Wealth Is Running Away in Oregon: 1. Benton Co. (-$132.25 million) 2. Umatilla Co. (-$68 million) 3. Malheur Co. (-$67.75 million) 4. Harney Co. (-$11.73 million) 5. Morrow Co. (-$6.72 million) 6. Multnomah Co. (-$6.43 million) 7. Wheeler Co. (-$5.73 million) 8. Gilliam Co. (-$2.96 million) […]

By Dunn, Carney, Allen, Higgins & Tongue Religious Practices Cannot Be “Motivating Factors” in Hiring Decisions Even if Unconfirmed The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that an employer cannot use an applicant’s religion, confirmed or unknown, as a “motivating factor” in making a hiring decision. In EEOC v. Abercrombie & […]

Congressman Kurt Schrader Legislation to reform Congress’s broken budget process reached a milestone today, as the Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 2015 now enjoys the support of a bipartisan majority of the House. With the bill receiving support of over 218 Members of Congress, there is enough support […]

Posted by McCarthy, Shannon Miller, Nash, Graham & Dunn LLP NW Law Firm As my partner, Kathleen Petrich, mentioned in her recent post, Subway took quick action to distance itself from Jared Fogle upon learning of the investigation into his alleged involvement with child pornography. Subway’s actions included removing reference of […]

Where are the jobs that support Portland families? By Mitch Hornecker Chair Portland Business Alliance Here at the Alliance, our first priority is to support our members. We do that through advocacy on issues that impact all of our businesses, and we do our best to make sure that Portland-metro […]