National Restaurant Association, The National Restaurant Association sent a letter to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman seeking relief options for small business restaurant operators with COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The letter suggests three ways the SBA can provide real relief for restaurants still struggling with […]

Oregon Household Formation Boomed During the Pandemic By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Earlier this year our office looked at the seemingly contradictory data in the housing market. On one hand we know population growth overall slowed during the pandemic. Usually this would mean that overall demand for […]

By Christine M. Zinter Bullard Law, As outlined in our previous alert, effective January 1, 2023, most Oregon employees and employers will begin paying into the new Family and Medical Leave Insurance (“FMLI”) program, Paid Leave Oregon. Employers who have not been granted an equivalent plan waiver are required to […]

By Oregon Business and Industry Business Development UPDATE: Appearing Sept. 21 before the House Interim Committee on Economic Development and Small Business, Gov. Kate Brown urged lawmakers to create a research and development tax credit and support efforts to streamline permitting for high-tech manufacturing. The governor also announced plans to […]

By Nicole Elgin & Missy Oakley Barran Liebman Law In 2021, the Oregon legislature passed SB 588, removing the Oregon sick time exemption (located in ORS 653.646) for employees, other than longshore workers, covered under a collective bargaining agreement, who are employed through a third party (e.g., a hiring hall), […]

National Retail Federation, The National Retail Federation today issued the following statement from Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French regarding the Senate introduction of the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2022. “We applaud Senators Grassley and Cortez Masto for introducing the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of […]

BY Oregon US Attorney office, EUGENE, Ore.—The former president and minority owner of Willamette Country Music Concerts, LLC, who planned, managed, and promoted the annual Willamette Country Music Festival in Linn County, Oregon, pleaded guilty today after she falsified bank statements and financial summaries to influence the sale of her […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon office of Economic Analysis, This morning the Census Bureau released the 2021 American Community Survey data. This is the best data set available to researchers as it provides not just high level measures looking at income, poverty, employment, commuting, housing and the like, but also the […]

By Nick Ball Barran Leibman, Oregon law firm As the world continues to adapt in light of the pandemic, deciding which policies to maintain as part of the “new normal” can be complex as employers weigh the unique needs of their businesses. For employers with unionized employees, this process is […]

By Oregon Business and Industry International Housing Concepts has turned the “tiny house” concept into a rapidly growing business that produces as many as four homes per week from its Salem manufacturing facility. It serves both high-end and affordable markets, employs more than 60 people in downtown Salem, and its […]