HR News


Meal Times and Rest Breaks – Do you know the law?

One of the most common complaints that lead to lawsuits against employers is the lack of adequate meal and rest breaks for employees. Wage and hour laws regulate basic working conditions such as meals and rest breaks. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure supervisors are knowledgeable of these workplace wage and hour rules. Well-intentioned employers who are NOT enforcing these rules are far more likely to have an employee file an employment-related […]


NEW Oregon Mandated Retirement Plan

Oregon Mandates a Retirement Plan FOR ALL EMPLOYERS In 2015, Oregon’s state legislature wanted to address Oregonians’ lack of retirement saving. Due to an alarming amount of individuals with no retirement savings, Oregon forged ahead as the first state to create a mandated retirement plan. The plan was crafted with the overall goal of giving Oregonians an easier way to save for retirement.   The legislature passed the Oregon Retirement Security Bill, HB 2960 which […]


ALERT: Federal Government Form I-9

U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services (USCIS) issued a newer version of the Form I-9 on July 17, 2017. This form use is mandatory beginning September 18, 2017. The newest version contains very subtle changes to the instructions section and to the list of acceptable documents. These minor changes are a great reminder to employers that Section 1 must be completed “at the time of hire.” Now is a great time to review your company hiring […]


NEW Oregon Equal Pay Act

What Every Oregon Employer Needs to Know Governor Kate Brown signed Oregon House Bill 2005 on June 1, 2017. Most of the provisions of the new Oregon Equal Pay Act of 2017 (EPA) go into effect on January 1, 2019. Oregon’s EPA establishes significant penalties for pay discrepancies between those in protected classes and those who are not. Oregon’s EPA makes it an unlawful employment practice for employers to: Screen job seekers based on current […]


LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Predictive Scheduling

Oregon may be the first to implement state-wide predictive scheduling rules. The predictive scheduling bills are designed to give employees advanced notice of their work schedules. This bill is designed to cut-down on last minute shift changes that can be common in industries such as retail, hospitality and food service. Employers changing schedules past their due date may be required to pay employees for the change – and allow employees to refuse some schedules. This […]


Oregon Legislative Update – March 2017

Pending Laws that will Impact Employers As the United States federal government is stealing most of the limelight, it can be easy to forget that the Oregon Legislature is in session and working on several bills that can profoundly impact Oregon employers. At the moment there are four notable bills that are making the rounds within the legislature.   House Bill 2193: “Relating To Employee Work Schedules” Better known as ‘Secure Scheduling’ by its advocates, […]


ALERT! BOLI Changes in Overtime Payment Laws

BOLI Changes Manufacturing Overtime Laws Retro-Effective on January 1, 2017   Overtime now must be calculated daily AND weekly starting January 1st. Mills, factories and manufacturing businesses are liable for a daily overtime requirement: in addition to the normal over 40 hours per week pay requirements that apply to other business types, manufacturing businesses are required to pay 1.5 times’ the employee’s regular rate of pay for hours that exceed 10 hours in a single […]


New 6-Foot Fall Protection Rule Now Enforced

OR-OSHA ALERT! Shorter Fall – Steep Penalties For a number of years the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OR-OSHA) has had a rule in place that if a worker could fall 10 feet or more to the next lower level then fall protection had to be put into place to protect that worker. Of course there are exceptions—such as steel tower builders who must have had an excellent lobby because their workers do not […]


Are My Employees Abusing Sick Leave?

Common issues effecting employers Suspected Sick Leave Abuse It has been a year since mandatory sick leave began in Oregon. Now that the policy has been implemented and employees are starting to accumulate and use their time – knowing what your options as an employer can help reduce the misuse of sick leave and save you money.  


The Affordable Care Act and the Future of Health Insurance

Cardinal’s Bird’s Eye View In November we looked at What Employers Need to Know – Choosing a Health Plan, the price of health insurance, compared small and individual market plans and costs—and made some predictions. It was not a stretch to predict that health insurance carriers who were not making a profit would continue to raise rates. Predicting what the Trump Administration and Congress will do now is more problematic.