By Oregon Employment Department, In 2012, the U.S. Census estimates Oregon had 339,000 firms. Of these, 331,000 were classifiable by gender, ethnicity, or race. Men owned half of these firms, while women owned 37 percent, and equally male/female owned businesses made up 13 percent of the total. Although men’s firm […]

By Dr. Eric Fruits, Oregon Economist On Demand Newsletter “Ban the Box” laws prevent employers from conducting criminal background checks until well into the job application process. (“Ban the Box” comes from the check box on many job applications asking, “Have you every been convicted of a crime?”) Proponents of […]

Barran Liebman Oregon Law Firm What The What? A Higher Paid Male Employee Threatens An Equal Pay Act Claim? By Michael G. McClory This week’s (fictional) mailbag question may leave you scratching your head. We see all kinds of (made up) letters and this one shocked even us. HR manager […]

By NFIB, A fall ballot measure is bad news for Oregon small businesses. Measure 97 is a proposal sponsored by the Oregon labor groups, which would impose a 2.5 percent gross receipts tax on companies that earn more than $25 million annually, drawing ire from business groups throughout the state. […]

Oregon Business News Note Amazon has designed a portable hand-held scanner that you can use at home to scan products in order to build a shopping list on the go or when it comes to your head. Check out the CNN Business video of this product and Amazon’s voice activation […]

Barran Liebman Oregon Law Firm Department of Labor’s Mandatory Poster Updates By Sean Ray and Nicole Elgin As of August 1st, 2016, all employers should be displaying the new Federal Minimum Wage and Polygraph Protection posters. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently issued updates to […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Oregon’s total personal income was just over $173 billion in 2015, while Texas’ was more than $1.28 trillion. Per capita personal income (PCPI), however, was $42,974 for Oregon and $46,745 for Texas.

University of Oregon Economic Indexes By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon Oregon Statewide Economic Indicators: Oregon’s economy posted some modestly softer numbers in June but the pace of activity remains generally consistent with that normally experienced during expansions. Highlights of this month’s report include: – The Oregon […]

By NFIB, The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) thanks Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) for his introduction of legislation that would reduce the impact of changes to the overtime rule on small businesses. The bill would slow the implementation of a Department of Labor change to the salary threshold for […]

National Retail Federation News Release, A new NRF survey proves what we’ve been saying for months about conversion to the new chip-and-signature credit cards — that retailers have done their part and it’s the card industry that’s dropped the ball. The survey, conducted in May and June, found that 48 […]