By National Retail Federation The National Retail Federation urged Visa and Mastercard to cancel credit card swipe fee increases scheduled to take effect this month, citing a letter from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress saying higher fees would add to inflation. “American consumers are struggling under the worst […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Consumer spending on physical goods remains robust. It accelerated earlier in the pandemic as we still had strong household finances but either couldn’t or didn’t want to spend on services like going out to eat, on vacations, performing elective surgeries, and the […]

By Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, ORLA representatives had an opportunity to present an industry update to the seven-member OLCC (Oregon Liquor and Cannabis) Commission last week. The presentation focused on the importance of OLCC staff extending liquor service footprints outdoors through a user friendly online process during Covid, their […]

By Nicole C. Elgin & Nicolas K. Ball Barran Leibman Law, Oregon law firm Posted on April 26, 2022 Employers are seeing a surge in union organization. Despite the overall decrease in the rate of private sector union membership in 2021, unions are all over the headlines. Recent victories by […]

By William MackEnzie The consumer-price index rose 8.5% in March from a year earlier, the fastest annual pace since December 1981, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 20. That’s the figure most consumers think of when they worry about rising prices. But there’s another number too often ignored – […]

By NFIB, The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) commends decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C. NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case, arguing that damages for emotional distress are categorically unavailable for violations of Title VI of the Civil […]

By Oregon Attorney General Press Release, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced that former Oregon Health Authority (OHA) employee Marzieh Abedin was indicted by a Marion County grand jury on 21 criminal counts associated with an embezzlement scheme that resulted in fraudulent payments of $1,492,720 from OHA to Federal Emergency […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Our office’s baseline expectation for tax season combines three things. First, the tax filing deadline is back to being near April 15th, unlike the past two years where the deadline was delayed. As such, the flow of funds, so to speak, should […]

By Chris M. Morgan & Bruce T. Garrett Barran Leibman, Oregon law firm Posted on April 25, 2022 The lifting of COVID-19 health and safety rules has caused confusion for employers because while most COVID-19 workplace restrictions have been lifted, some remain in place. COVID-19 Workplace Rule Changes Last month, […]

By Alysha D. Phelps Barran Liebman LLP NW Law firm April 22, 2022 — H.B. 1795, also known as Washington’s “Silenced No More Act” (“Act”), will take effect on June 9, 2022. As we approach the Act’s effective date, employers should review their agreements for compliance with the new law. […]