The Long, Winding Road to a Transportation Plan Building bipartisan support for a statewide transportation package has been a Legislative priority since at least 2015, when the last effort failed. With two months remaining in the 2017 Session, time is running short to develop a bill that can pass both […]

    Zombie Unemployment Rate Claims by Josh Lehner Oregon currently has a record low unemployment rate, with good data going back to 1976. It’s true that this likely overstates the strength in the economy, however we know the labor market is tight and Oregon is at or near full […]

Rep. Peter DeFazio Introduces “Putting Main Street FIRST” Act to Rein In Speculative Wall Street Trading Bill would use savings to boost national priorities including affordable higher education, infrastructure repair Rep. Peter DeFazio introduced legislation that would levy a 0.03 percent tax on transactions of stocks, bonds and derivatives to […]

House Passes the American Health Care Act: What Employers Need to Know Now By Allison J. Jacobsen and Iris K. Tilley, Barran Liebman Attorneys Earlier today, by a narrow 217 to 213 vote, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping amendment to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This amendment, known as […]

    NFIB: AHCA Paves Way for Health Care that Works for Small BusinessAmerica’s leading small business group says House action is a critical first step toward Obamacare repeal and replace Jack Mozloom, NFIB The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today issued the following statement on behalf of President […]

The High Cost of a Disengaged Workforce and What to Do About It Cascade Employers Association: by Courtney LeCompte Human Resources exists to maximize the productivity of an organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees. Employee effectiveness is optimized when employees are engaged.

Are your confidentiality agreements up to date? Ater-Wynne: NW Business Litigation by Stacey Mark The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) provides an important tool for protecting trade secrets from misappropriation by affording owners a federal right of action for misappropriation of trade secrets related to a product or service used, […]

Patrick Criteser, Chair Ore. Business Plan Steering Committee & Dan Harmon, Former head of Oregon Associated Industries, For more than 15 years, Oregon’s major business groups, trade associations and elected officials have worked together to build the Oregon Business Plan. The partnership between business leaders and elected officials has accomplished […]

Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Our office has done a lot of housing work in recent years — things like The Housing Trilemma, Peak Renter, Rural Affordability and The Housing Inflection Point — but haven’t published much of the basic nuts and bolts numbers. What follows is a […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Trump Administration’s Tax Reform Outline WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement regarding the tax reform outline released today by the Trump administration: