By Oregon Employment Department, “Although Oregon experienced job gains due to the limited resumption of economic activity in May, over the past three months of the COVID-19 pandemic job losses have totaled 243,500. Historically, this loss is unprecedented and currently thousands of Oregonians are still suffering the economic realities of […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis This week we got the May 2020 employment report for Oregon. Like the U.S., it was a happy surprise in that jobs grew and unemployment declined. Today I just wanted to highlight the data, update our charts, and introduce a new piece […]

What Oregon Businesses Need to Know About OHA’s Updated Face Mask Requirements By Heather Fossity & Amy Angel Barran Liebman law firm, The Oregon Health Authority’s recent guidance details additional mask, face shield, or face covering requirements for covered Oregon businesses. Starting June 24, 2020, certain businesses must require customers […]

By Liani J. Reeves Bullard Law, In a long awaited decision, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) (voting 6-3) extended protections for homosexual and transgender employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The decision will have less impact in states like Oregon, Washington, and […]

By Anthony K. Smith Oregon NFIB   For nearly two months now, our lives have changed, dramatically. Turn the clock back to the beginning of 2020 and the economy was humming along, the stock market was seeing record highs, unemployment was historically very low, and Oregon’s state budget was in […]

By National Federation of Independent Business NFIB member Les Neilly, owner of Neilly Canvas Goods in Pittsburgh, testified on Tuesday before the United States Senate Finance Committee about the challenges his small business is facing as a result of the additional $600 per week pandemic unemployment compensation enacted as part […]

Tim Duy University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators This is the University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators for April 2020. The release date June 8, 2020. Special thanks to our sponsor, KeyBank This is what a “sudden stop” looks like in the data. The Oregon Measure […]

By Jason W. Douthit Bullard Law In 2016, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1532, which requires annual minimum wage increases. The next scheduled minimum wage increases take effect July 1, 2020. It is anticipated that the minimum wage increases will take place as scheduled without any relief due to […]

By NFIB, The Small Business Optimism Index increased 3.5 points in May to 94.4, a strong improvement from April’s 90.9 reading. Eight of the 10 Index components improved in May and two declined. The NFIB Uncertainty Index increased seven points to 82. Reports of expected business conditions in the next […]

Take Notice: Updates to the Terms of the Paycheck Protection Program By Gabrielle Hansen Barran Liebman Oregon law firm Good news for the businesses focused on using their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds in such a way so as to obtain maximum PPP loan forgiveness. Today, President Trump signed the […]