9 Ways To Avoid Holiday Party Pitfalls (and Liability) By Matt Durham Stoel Rives LLP, Oregon Law Firm According to recent poll by the Society of Human Managers (SHRM), fewer employers are foregoing holiday parties this year than in 2009. Although the economy continues to sputter, many employers likely see […]

— Largest One-Month Employment Increase in Nearly Five Years — Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 7,600 — Government added 20,100 jobs in October By Oregon Employment Department Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.5 percent in October, unchanged from the revised figure of 10.5 percent in September. The rate has […]

Trade War: What Does It Mean for Business and the Economy? By Bill Conerly, Conerly Consulting, Businomics With the latest GDP report I have updated my economic outlook and extended the forecast period through 2012. It maybe looks a little better, but still not wonderful. The key to my cyclical […]

The Facts about Sen. Wyden’s State Waiver Provision By Senator Ron Wyden In order to empower states to create innovative new approaches for providing quality, affordable health insurance that works best for them, Senator Wyden authored a provision in the Healthy Americans Act and the PPAC Act that would make […]

By Oregon Small Business Association We have noticed two types of ads being used by The Oregonian and the Seattle Times that is gaining expansive use. Seattle Times: During the election the Seattle Times used post-it note ads where the ad is a peelable sticker pasted on the front page […]

By: J.L. Wilson Associated Oregon Industries While AOI’s federal lawsuit against SB 519 – the “Employer Gag Bill” – ran into initial roadblocks earlier this year, the next state to pass the bill, Wisconsin, saw the law invalidated by a Stipulation for Dismissal filed in the U.S. District Court for […]

From Consumer Reports on their Nice-Naughty Business List: 1 Southwest. Two pieces of checked luggage, no charge. And that includes bulky freight such as golf clubs and skis. 2 L.L.Bean. 100 percent product satisfaction guarantee. Return anything at any time for any reason. 3 Zappos.com. Free shipping and free returns, […]

Half of Employers Monitor Internet and E-mail Use of Employees — Nearly One-Third of Workers Holiday Shop Online at Work, By Career Builders, CHICAGO  – As Thanksgiving weekend officially kicks off the holiday season, one tradition that is returning this year is online shopping at the office. Cyber Monday, a […]

Where Black Friday and holiday prices prices are trending By Oregon Small Business Association, This Black Friday and Holiday season prices have already witnessed huge drops in electronic goods and toys (as the Black Friday chart below shows). At the same time Americans will pay at the holiday dinner table […]

Oregon’s “Employer Gag Law” Revisited –Court Finds NLRA Preempts Similar Wisconsin Law Bullard Smith Jernstedt Wilson BULLARD eAlert On November 15, 2010, a federal court in Wisconsin struck down a state law that prohibited employers from taking adverse employment action against employees who refused to attend meetings intended to communicate […]