By Sen. Dick Anderson and Jim Fitzhenry In nearly every corner of Oregon, manufacturers provide living-wage jobs while innovating constantly to increase sustainability. They make wine and cheese, paper and wood products. They turn recycled plastic into broadband conduit and garbage into paper products. They make semiconductors, too. The success […]

By National Federation of Independent Business, The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement on behalf of Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, regarding the Department of Labor’s proposed rule on independent contractors: “Small business owners […]

Full Restitution Payment Obtained from Three Former Portland-Area Strip Club Operators Convicted of Fraud By Oregon US Attorney Press Release, PORTLAND, Ore.—The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced today that full restitution of over $600,000 was obtained from the former operators of two Portland-area strip clubs who […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Economic Analysis Office We know Oregon has underbuilt housing by about 5 years’ worth of new construction in recent decades. The household formation boom during the pandemic likely pushes that to more like 6 years’ worth of new construction that we are behind. Our office’s housing […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, Nike must release sealed documents related to a gender discrimination lawsuit file in 2018 by four former employees, according to US Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo. The judge, in a 15-page ruling, ordered the Portland maker of sneakers and clothing to release more information on […]

By Nick Ball Barran Leibman The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has reversed existing precedent by holding that covered employers are no longer entitled to unilaterally stop union dues checkoff following the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) that required the employer to make such deductions. Union dues checkoff […]

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 […]