By NFIB A federal mandate requiring employers to offer paid leave would erase 430,000 jobs and shrink economic output by $652 billion over 10 years, according to new research released today by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). “There’s no such thing as a free benefit,” said NFIB President […]

Miller, Nash, Graham & Dunn LLP NW Law Firm In Broadway Cab LLC v. Employment Department, the Court first applied the Employment Department statute that defines “employment” as “service for an employer” that is “performed for remuneration.” ORS 657.030(1). The Court held that the facts supported the conclusion that the […]

By Oregon Attorney General, For the first time, the Oregon Attorney General must now be notified when there has been a consumer data breach involving more than 250 Oregonians. The new law, which went into effect January 1, 2016, requires businesses and government agencies to notify the Oregon Attorney General’s […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog One of our state’s key economic features in recent years is that the robust job gains have also been joined by strong wage gains. Oregon’s average wage, while still below the national average, is at it’s highest relative point in a […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its strong opposition to a Seattle ordinance that authorizes union organizing of for-hire drivers working as independent contractors, highlighting that the ordinance violates federal law in at least two ways and that the ordinance will burden innovation, increase prices, and […]

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on legislation filed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to require Internet companies that are aware of undefined “terrorist activity” to report it to law-enforcement. “Let’s make sure the record is clear: The Director of the FBI testified […]

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity surged in November to 1.38, up from 0.75 the previous month. The three-month moving average, which smooths month-to-month volatility in the measure, rose to 0.62 (“zero” indicates average growth […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Home prices are rising quickly across the state and have surpassed their previous peak in many areas, although not all. Such prices — particularly in places like Bend and Portland — have many asking the question of whether or not we […]

By Oregon Brewers Guild A recently completed study estimates the economic impact of the 2015 Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) at $30.2 Million. Jeff Dense, Professor of Political Science and Craft Beer Studies at Eastern Oregon University, and a team of students administered 751 on-site interviews July 22-25, 2015. The study […]

By Oregon NFIB, It’s no secret that regulations make it difficult for small businesses to stay afloat in Oregon. This year was far from an exception. More bad news than good seemed to flow out of Salem, from February’s extension of the clean-fuel standard to June’s approval of a mandatory […]