U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits Randy Johnson issued the following statement regarding the Obama administration’s overtime proposal: “Making more employees eligible for overtime by severely restricting the exemptions will not guarantee more income, but instead will negatively impact […]

Portland raises minimum wage to $15 an hour for full-time city workers By Oregon Small Business Association, The Portland City Council voted on May 13 to raise the minimum wage for full-time city workers to $15 an hour. The raise will affect 16 full-time city employees and more than 150 […]

By Jan Meekcoms Oregon NFIB Some small business owners have found flexible working arrangements work well for their company and benefit their employees. A proposal in Oregon, however, would reduce employers’ freedom to manage their own businesses. Senate Bill 888 would require employers to work with employees to try to […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate As the 2015 Legislative Session struggles to the finish, several bills important to the business community remain on the table. Rather than an in-depth look at just a few bills, this week’s Leading Issues provides an overview of unfinished business. Some bills are […]

The $1 billion NIKE cancer challenge for OHSU set a new United States record for charity. This matching donation was joined by 10,000 donations from every state in the nation. See NIKE co-founder, Phil Knight on Good Morning America.

By Steve Buckstein, Cascade Policy Institute Call it the smartphone/mobile app economy. Call it the Free World of Ridesharing. Call it the future. Whatever you call it, Uber, Lyft, and a host of smaller innovative companies are quickly transforming the century-long, highly government-regulated transportation market in Portland and around the […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness President and CEO David Hirschmann today issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. in the case Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities […]

Ater Wynne LLP NW Law firm Given the awkward questions, gossip, and perhaps outright discrimination that may occur when an individual comes out as transgender on the job, it would be understandable if an individual decided to resign rather than continue working through the transition. With Caitlyn Jenner’s public announcement […]

Congressman Kurt Schrader Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05) voted for H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, more commonly known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The bill passed the House by a vote of 219-211. “95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. The state of […]

By Jan Meekcoms Oregon NFIB Taxpayers could receive almost $473 million in rebates. Oregon’s kicker rebate system, which is expected to return nearly $473 million to state taxpayers next year, is threatened by new proposals in the legislature. Under the unique kicker provision in the state’s constitution, Oregon must return […]