News update from the Capitol

 

News Flash

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From the Desk of Senator Alan Olsen, Senate District 20

March 24, 2015

Hello Friends, 

As the 2015 Legislature progresses, new bills continue to come up for Committee hearings that are “job killers” for Oregon.   Currently Oregon is 33rd in poverty, 33rd in per capita income and 46th in unemployment.  One in five Oregonians are on food stamps.  You would think the emphasis of the Oregon Legislature would be on creating jobs and supporting private employers -- the major source of Oregon’s revenue.  Instead we are seeing a partisan effort by the Democrats to “handcuff” business growth.  92% of Oregon businesses are small businesses that will be disproportionately harmed by these job killers.

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2015 Job Killers 

SB 454Implements Statewide Mandatory Paid sick Leave.  Increases employer mandates by requiring employers to provide employees with paid sick leave.  The Legislative Revenue Office’s preliminary estimate is that the Mandatory Sick Leave bill (SB 454) will impose more than $1.5 billion in new costs on Oregon businesses over the next four years.

 SB 845 - Imposes New Fees on Large Employers.  Requires employers whose employees obtain health insurance coverage through a public program to pay a fee to the state for that coverage.

 HB 2007 – Adds Employer Liability for Wage Discussions.  Creates a new unlawful employment practice against an employer who takes any negative employment action against an employee for discussing or disclosing “in any manner” his wages or those of another employee.

 HB 2009 – Increases Statewide Minimum Wage. Increases Oregon’s current minimum wage from $9.25 to $15 per hour by 2018. Not all businesses can support this increase and they will have to either cut hours or cut employees. 

 HB 2606– Expands Family Leave for Siblings. Adds siblings as an additional category of family members for whom a worker may take leave to provide care.Oregon does have a family leave law in place for immediate family.  Adding siblings could be very costly to a small business.

 HB 2764 – Increases Workers’ Compensation Costs. Employers will pay nearly 5% more in workers’ compensation system costs without any expectation that increases will be offset by system savings.

 HB 3377 – Mandates Predictive Scheduling.  Requires employer to establish “mutually acceptable work schedule” upon employee request for a flexible or predictable work schedule.  Mandates employers provide alternative work schedules. This will be very difficult for small employers to comply with this mandate. 

The Senate Republicans have proposed numerous solutions to relieve the burden on Oregon’s smallest businesses – however, these proposals have not been considered by the Majority Democrats.

 You might not own a business, but you may work for a small business and I want to make sure your jobs are not impacted by this potentially harmful legislation.

Oregon State Capitol
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Email: Sen.AlanOlsen@state.or.us 
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1720
District Phone: 503-266-4599
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-425, Salem, OR 97301
District Address: 675 Northwest 2nd St., Canby, OR 97013
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/olsen

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