Archives

December 27, 2018 - Guilty plea in stealing funds, destroying union records

By U.S. Attorney, Oregon District John Jason Burgess, 43, of Hillsboro, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of concealing or destroying labor union records. According to court documents, between 2008 and 2016, Burgess served as the president of Local 304, an independent labor union representing approximately 140 employees of Pacific […]


December 26, 2018 - Lawmakers roll out 14 new business taxes

By Oregon Small Business Association, The Oregon Legislature just released a batch of over 50 tax related bills it will consider in the 2019 session. Here are some of the Oregon tax proposals that will hit business the hardest. 1. Business property taxes: HJR 3, HJR 4, and HB 2167 […]


December 24, 2018 - Measuring Oregon wealth

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Economists have tons of data and research on current incomes. However we have considerably less on wealth. In fact we have next to nothing at the regional or local level. Given the increased concentration of wealth in recent decades, and the aging […]


December 24, 2018 - AG forces local car dealer to issue 4000 refunds

By Oregon Attorney General’s Office, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum today announced a $120,000 settlement with car dealership Courtesy Ford, and warned other car dealers that violating the state’s advertising rules could result in stiff penalties. The settlement includes $55,000 in restitution to Oregonians who unknowingly purchased a “Data Dots” theft […]


December 20, 2018 - Congress, fix tax cut error before going home

National Retail Federation Press Release, The National Retail Federation and more than 250 retail, restaurant and other companies from across the country are urging Congress to fix a mistake in last year’s tax reform law as part of end-of-year legislation, saying the error has put millions of dollars in job-creating […]


December 20, 2018 - Should we rethink single family housing?

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis As policymakers, builders, and the market work to solve the housing supply issues, a key question everybody asks is what type of housing do we need? Aren’t millennials always going to be renters? [No] Should we grow up, or out? Our office’s […]


December 19, 2018 - WA paid family leave starts. Oregon next?

Employers Prepare: Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave Premiums Start January 1st! By Nicole Elgin & Kyle Abraham By Barran Liebman LLP Oregon law firm On January 1, 2019, Washington will become the fifth state in the country with Paid Family and Medical Leave. This new program will allow employees […]


December 18, 2018 - Rep. Schrader: Bill closes $1B drug rebate loophole

US Representative Kurt Schrader, Oregon US Congress, Legislation introduced by Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05) and Congressman Peter Welch (VT-At Large) to close a loophole in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program that is reported to have cost the Medicaid program as much as $1 billion passed in the House this week […]


December 17, 2018 - Ind-Contractor Misclassification fine cost $3.5M

By Barran Liebman LLP Oregon law firm A recent judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon requires the owner of a courier service, Gerald Brazie, Jr., and three of his Portland-based companies (Senvoy LLC, Driver Resources LLC, and ZoAn Management Inc.) to pay their drivers $3,087,100 […]


December 14, 2018 - Oregon construction, manufacturing, payroll all up

Timothy A. Duy Director, Oregon Economic Forum Department of Economics, University of Oregon Below is the University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators for October 2018. The release date is December 6, 2018. Special thanks to our sponsor, KeyBank The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity rose to 0.83 in […]