ORA helps craft compromise to benefit consumers and assists members with compliance
June 17, 2009 — Oregon's new statewide chain restaurant menu labeling policy was signed into law today by Governor Ted Kulongoski. The Governor gave his seal of approval following passage of House Bill 2726 by the Oregon Senate on June 1, 2009 by a vote of 21-7, and passage by the Oregon House on May 15, 2009 by a vote of 43-15.
April 3, 2009 — The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, began requiring the use of the New I-9 Form on April 3, 2009. Employers use the I-9 to document that employees are authorized to work in the United States.
When the 75th Oregon Legislative Assembly convenes in January, two members of the Oregon Restaurant Association will be serving in the House of Representatives. Kevin Cameron, owner of the Cafe Today restaurants, will be representing the people of House District 19 which covers south and east sections of Marion County and portions of Salem. And, Jim Weidner, owner of the Lago de Chapala restaurant in Yamhill, will be representing citizens of House District 24 which includes segments of Yamhill and Polk Counties.
According to Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHA) the purpose of a safety committee is to bring workers and managers together to achieve and maintain a safe, healthful workplace. The benefit of an effective safety committee is finding solutions to problems that cause workplace accidents, illnesses, and injuries. And fewer accidents, injuries and illnesses mean lower workers’ compensation claims costs and insurance rates.
New Minimum Wage Increase Effective January 1, 2009
In September 2008 Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian announced that there would be a 45-cent an hour consumer price adjustment to Oregon's minimum wage. This increase will be effective as of January 1, 2009. Once this adjustment is in place Oregon's Minimum wage will be $8.40 an hour, making it the second highest minimum wage in the nation. Washington State will once again lead the nation on January 1st when their minimum wage increases to $8.55 an hour. Like Oregon, their increase comes from an indexing component.
The federal minimum wage will also be increasing to $7.25 effective July 24, 2009. This increase will reduce the gap that Oregon employers have seen in the past few years. The government does not currently use an indexing system such as the law here in Oregon to figure Federal minimum wage.
Oregon and Washington are currently two of the total seven states that have not established a tip credit and, with the current political climate in Oregon, it does not seem likely that an opportunity would arise to correct any of the minimum wage issues.
In 2005, Governor Kulongoski agreed to support the Warm Springs Tribe's efforts to build on an industrial site in Cascade Locks in exchange for the tribe's promise to close its casino in Central Oregon and forgo developing a more sensitive site on tribal land in Hood River.
The Oregon Restaurant Association (ORA) and Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN) have started a coalition of Oregon Business groups in order to work towards a long-term solution to the immigration issue. As of today there are more than 20 business associations participating in the Coalition for Working Oregon. The overall goal of the coalition is to develop a strategy for a comprehensive federal solution. We will start this process by contracting an economic study on the impact to Oregon's businesses and by hiring a coordinator dedicated to organizing all Oregon business groups so that the same message is being sent from every group to our congressional delegation. However, we first need to understand how we arrived in this position.
On January 8, 2009, the Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to suspend implementation of the E-Verify requirement for Federal Contractors until February 20, 2009. The DOJ decision to suspend the E-Verify requirement stems from a lawsuit filed on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups. The lawsuit challenges the legality of requiring federal contractors and sub-contractors to use E-Verify, which is an internet-based electronic verification system to confirm that prospective employees are legally eligible to work. The suit challenges the E-Verify order on the grounds that Congress, through the passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, prohibited mandating the use of the E-Verify system.
Appeals Court Ruling Overturned in Meal Period Case
On Thursday, May 15, the Oregon Supreme Court reversed the Oregon Court of Appeals and found that, when an employee misses a rest break, there is no private claim for wages or wage penalties. Originally filed back in 2004, this case was presented by two Legacy Health Systems employees who argued that, because their job was so demanding and forced them to skip breaks, they were entitled to additional compensation for those breaks. When the case was first presented to the Supreme Court, the Oregon Restaurant Association filed an Amicus Brief, or friend-of-the-court brief, on behalf of the restaurant industry in order to help defend other business interests and assist Legacy Health Systems. In its ruling, the court found that the enforcing agency, the Bureau of Labor and Industry (BOLI), can assess fines if employees are not taking rest breaks but the employee cannot bring a wage claim. This decision is a big win, not only for Legacy Health Systems, but for all Oregon employers as this is a particularly hot area for class-action litigation. Davis Wright & Tremaine were lead council on the case and ORA used the resources at Dunn Carney law firm to represent us in our Amicus Brief. The decision of the Supreme Court was unanimous, which is particularly remarkable given our current bench. Further information on this case can be found at one of the following links:
During the last legislative session, teachers unions in Oregon focused part of their agenda on gift cards issued by businesses. They fought hard in an attempt to pass legislation that would require all unredeemed gift card funds be taken away from businesses and given to schools. ORA pushed back and, in the end, their efforts were unsuccessful. However, business groups had to agree to protect consumers that paid full price for gift cards as a compromise. Though this battle was lost, the teachers unions have repeatedly raised the issue of unredeemed gift cards for several sessions now and there is no expectation that that will change during future sessions.
