By Oregon Business and Industry OBI joined 25 other chambers and association partners urging Gov. Brown and the Legislature to consider using American Rescue Plan funds to create an incentive program aimed at encouraging people to accept work rather than relying on continued unemployment benefits. Read the full letter here. […]

Oregon Construction Employment Near Record Highs BY Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s construction industry reached near a record high number of jobs in recent months, employing approximately 110,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The industry bounced back quickly from the COVID recession in which it spiked down to about 100,000 jobs […]

By Portland Business Alliance News Release 5/26/21- Portland Business Alliance is Greater Portland’s Chamber of Commerce and represents the largest, most diverse network of businesses in the region. Today the City of Portland Auditor’s office issued a statement and response, declining our request of reconsideration of unreported city lobbying violations. […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, People who like to imbibe can find one plus from the pandemic—Oregon lawmakers have legalized cocktails-to-go. Struggling bars and restaurants offered mixed drinks to go while attempting to survive the coronavirus pandemic, but Senate Bill 317 lets licensed businesses sell mixed drinks and single services […]

By National Federation of Independent Business, A record-high 48% of small business owners in May reported unfilled job openings (seasonally adjusted), according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. May is the fourth consecutive month of record-high readings for unfilled job openings and is 26 points higher than the 48-year historical reading […]

By Oregon Employment Department, In April 2021, 19 out of 36 of Oregon’s counties experienced over-the-month increases in their unemployment rates. Curry and Morrow counties saw the largest over-the-month increase at 0.3 percentage points each in April. Nine counties experienced decreases in their unemployment rates over the month, and eight […]

By Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association National Restaurant Association Provides State and Local Lawmakers Blueprint for Rebuilding Blueprint includes funded and unfunded tools to accelerate the industry’s economic recovery The National Restaurant Association today sent a State and Local Blueprint for Rebuilding to the National Governors Association, the United States […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Business owners must provide workers with paid leave during a public health crisis if schools or child care centers close under a bill recently passed by the Oregon Senate 22 to 7. House Bill 2474 expands the Oregon Family Leave Act and reduces the number […]

By NFIB, The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) sent a letter of support to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives supporting the Save Local Business Act, which will provide certainty for small businesses concerning the joint employer standard. “Returning to a ‘direct-control’ joint employer standard will […]

OSHA Reverses Guidance on Recording Adverse Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccination By Wilson Jarrell Barran Liebman Law The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently updated its guidance on when employers need to record adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines. In a reversal of the guidance it issued back in April (which […]