By Sarah Hale & Heather Fossity Barran Leibman LLP Oregon law firm On December 11, 2019, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) announced significant changes to the eligibility for employees to be classified as exempt under the white collar exemptions, as well as exemptions for outside salespeople […]

By NFIB, NFIB issued the following statement from Karen Harned, Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center in response to the United States Department of Labor’s final rule that simplifies and updates its regulations that determine joint-employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act: “Small and independent businesses […]

By by Damon Runberg Oregon Employment Department, Oregon welcomed its third In-N-Out Burger to much fanfare, long lines, and in some instances, upwards of a two-hour wait for a fast food burger. Although fans of the burger chain would claim that In-N-Out is not your traditional fast food restaurant, it […]

By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon, Like David and Goliath, residents of a tiny town on the Oregon Coast are battling Facebook, one of the world’s largest tech companies, over the social media company’s plans to build a landing spot for undersea cables. Residents in quiet Tierra Del Mar, about 65 […]

Interview with Rob O’Neill, CPA Partner, Moss Adams and Chair, OBI Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy by Oregon Transformation Newsletter. In May 2019, Gov. Brown signed into law the new Oregon Corporate Activity Tax. The new tax will be imposed on businesses who have “the privilege of doing business […]

By National Retail Federation, The National Retail Federation said a federal judge should issue a preliminary injunction to continue to block a California law that would prohibit employers from requiring workers to agree to arbitration of employment issues. “Arbitration is an easier and more flexible way of resolving employment disputes […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Press Release, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said in his 2020 State of American Business speech that worker shortages and the growing skills gap is an “urgent priority for states all over the country.” Donohue also unveiled the Chamber’s new state-based Worker Availability Ratio […]

By Josh Lehner, Office of Economic Analysis, Welcome to a new decade. The 2020s should be the best decade so far in the new millennium, not that the tech bust/housing bubble/Great Recession and its aftermath puts up much of a challenge, but still. While the most remarkable economic trend of […]

By Cascade Policy Institute, Research published by Cascade Policy Institute concludes workers, employers, and unions could benefit from increased competition among labor unions. Competition among unions and workplace freedom would lead to improved choice and representation for workers, reduce costs for employers, and may lead to increased union membership. Introducing […]

Wall Street Editorial 1/6/20, Politicians bemoan the lack of affordable housing, but their policies often create the problem. Look no further than Oregon, where restrictive zoning and mandates have yielded the lowest rate of residential construction in decades. Oregon’s population grew by nearly 400,000 between 2010 and 2019. But the […]