By US Chamber, As America continues to reopen, small business optimism around hiring prospects are muted, as an equal number say they are either more optimistic or more pessimistic compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to a poll taken June 16 – 23, 2021 and released by the […]

By Jordan Ramis, Oregon law firm On July 8, 2021, OSHA-Oregon passed two temporary rules to address exposure to high ambient temperatures, OAR 437-002-0155 and OAR 437-004-1130. The rules are identical, adding a specific rule to the General Occupational Safety and Health Rules and a specific rule to the administrative […]

  Disparate Impacts of the Pandemic Recession in Oregon By Oregon Employment Department, The pandemic recession came upon a healthy economy with record high total employment and a record-low unemployment rate in spring 2020. Within two months’ time, Oregon lost 286,000 jobs and unemployment spiked to an all-time high of […]

Photo: Minority owned small businesses trying to compete with big box retailers will be hit hard by the 17% tax. By Oregon Small Business Association It is not often enough that Democrats and Republicans unite against an idea but the 17% tax on small business has become one of them. […]

US Congressman Peter DeFazio, Transformative bill includes $3.67 Billion for Oregon Highways, $848 million for Oregon Transit, $20 million for projects in SW Oregon The INVEST in America Act, transformative legislation authored by Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio, passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 221-201. […]

By NFIB, The U.S. Supreme Court concluded its 2020 term, and many of its decisions will have a positive impact on small businesses. NFIB submitted several amici briefs this term to advocate on behalf of small businesses on issues such as regulations, taxes, and property ownership. “The U.S. Supreme Court […]

By US Congressman Cliff Bentz, The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee finished its marathon markup of six bills focused on reshaping antitrust laws that directly impact big technology companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google – and possibly other companies. Congressman Cliff Bentz, who participated in the two-day, 25-hour […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis We received the national June jobs report. Another very strong month for job gains, and ongoing wage increases. It is encouraging to see these dynamics continue to play out as the labor market recovers from the pandemic. Our office’s forecast has front-loaded […]

By Karen Vineyard, chair, OBI Board of Directors When the legislative session began back in January – amid a global pandemic that had shuttered schools and broken businesses, a nationwide reckoning with racial injustice and with thousands of Oregonians still displaced from autumn wildfires – we knew it was going […]

By Julie Preciado & Blayne Soleymani-Pearson Barran Liebman Law Oregon law firm On June 11, Governor Brown signed into law Oregon’s version of the “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“CROWN”) Act.” Oregon is the 12th state to adopt such a law since 2019. The CROWN Act […]