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Hello ODA colleagues,
We are all shocked and saddened to hear of the recent mass shootings in both Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas. Our hearts are broken as we think about this tragic loss of lives and the impact on their communities and the nation. As details of the events emerge and the stories and faces of the victims are shared, the effects are expected to have far-reaching and long-lasting emotional impacts.
Hearing about tragic events, like mass shootings can leave you feeling anxious, grief-stricken, angry, hopeless, powerless, or even numb. Yet, we are all expected to keep working, taking children to school, and interacting with others as if nothing happened. If you are having a difficult time, please ask for help. As a state employee, there are resources available. Canopy offers several services free of charge and they can be done on your timeline. I encourage you to talk to someone and consider using the resources available to you to support emotional health and wellbeing:
Connect with the Canopy, formerly EAP: Counselors are available 24/7 to offer confidential, professional, and culturally competent care at 800-433-2330.
For within the workplace:
Canopy is available to consult and offer Critical Incident Response to allow people space to process their emotions and identify healthy coping mechanisms.
Contact Canopy for consultation and support:
Call: 800-433-2320
Visit: canopywell.com
Email: info@canopywell.com
If you are looking for a way to help or give back, please consider donating blood. After the shootings, locals were asked to donate ensuring supplies were available for the victims. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. To donate near you, please visit the America Red Cross.
Please take care,
Alexis
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The Ag Building Safety Committee would like to make sure that you can reach them if you have questions or concerns about safety issues at your workplace. There are two ways to reach the safety committee.
- For written suggestions: Use the drop-box located at the Salem Office in the Admin Services office area, near the entrance to the HR office.
- Email your concerns to: safety-committee@oda.state.or.us
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On May 13, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Alexis Taylor to serve as Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. Alexis says accepting the nomination was bittersweet because she sincerely loves Oregon and ODA.
The position requires Senate confirmation and the formal nomination will begin a lengthy process which will include a confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, and ultimately a vote by the full Senate. The White House has not announced a date for the vote.
Alexis came to ODA in 2017 after 12 years in Washington, D.C. serving in multiple roles, including overseeing USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service and staffing members of Congress from Montana and Iowa. Alexis is also a Veteran. She served a tour of duty in Iraq with the 389th Combat Engineer Battalion. Oregon Governor Kate Brown will allow Alexis to continue to serve as ODA Director until her confirmation in order to help ensure a smooth transition.
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Every state agency is on its own path in creating a more inclusive workplace. At ODA that journey is just beginning.
Leading the work is the department’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee. As a way of measuring inclusivity at ODA the DEI committee is launching a staff survey on June 1, 2022. Please look for it in your email inbox. ODA employees will have two weeks to complete the survey and responses will be confidential. The survey should only take 5-10 minutes to finish. Your responses are anonymous and will be kept confidential.
ODA Biennial Report Now Available
The ODA biennial report on the agency and employee accomplishments during the 2019-2021 biennium is now available.
Please allow us to share with you the multitude of examples of perseverance, flexibility, and dedication demonstrated by ODA staff.
https://oda.direct/BiennialReport
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As election season begins, staff need to be mindful of what we, as public employees, can and cannot do during work hours. ORS 260.432 states that public employees may not, while on the job during working hours, promote or oppose election petitions, candidates, political committees or ballot measures.
Prohibited Activities During Working Hours
During working hours, employees may not:
- Prepare or distribute written material, post website information, transmit emails, or make a presentation that advocates a campaign-related position.
- Produce or distribute a news release or letter announcing an elected official’s candidacy.
- Make outgoing calls to schedule or organize campaign events or other political activity on behalf of an elected official or political committee.
- Direct other public employees to participate in political activities, when in the role of a supervisor.
- Prepare or give recommendations to a governing body urging which way to vote on a resolution that advocates a political position.
Allowable Activities During Working Hours
During working hours, employees may:
- Prepare and distribute impartial written material or make an impartial presentation that discusses election subjects.
- Impartially advise employees about possible impacts of a measure.
- Address election-related issues, in a factual and impartial manner, if such activity is legitimately within the scope of the employee’s normal duties.
- Prepare neutral, factual information for a governing body to use in determining what position to take on an issue.
As a public employee, on your own off-duty time, you may participate in any lawful political activity. However, you cannot use state-owned equipment during participation.
During business hours and while representing Oregon state government, we are accountable to the citizens of Oregon, and we must remain impartial on all ballot measures and other campaign-related issues. If you have any questions, please contact your agency’s Human Resources office.
For a full list of prohibited and allowable activities during work hours, please see the Secretary of State’s ORS 260.432 Quick Reference and/or its manual on Restrictions on Political Campaigning by Public Employees.
Use it or Lose it! Use PB before June 30
Do you have Personal Business leave or Straight Time accruals? If the answer is yes, please remember that these balances must be taken by June 30 or they will be lost. Be sure to coordinate with your manager to schedule the time away.
June is Pride Month celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. Throughout the month, the LGBTQ+ community and its allies get together at parades, marches and other organized events in the U.S. and around the world. While it's certainly a cause for celebration, Pride Month is also a time to reflect on the history of the movement; remember the lives lost to violence and HIV/AIDs; and pay tribute to activists like Harvey Milk and Marsha P. Johnson.
Pride has been celebrated in Portland since the early 1970s, with the first outdoor celebration in 1976. Pride Northwest, Inc. has organized the annual Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade since 1994.
The Portland Pride Festival is the single, largest visibility avenue for our region’s LGBTQ+ community organizations and businesses, where they can attract new supporters and clients, increase their volunteer base, and raise much needed funds. In addition, the festival attracts thousands of visitors to Portland each year, bringing significant revenue to the local LGBTQ+ business community and to the city, as a whole. LGBTQ+ community members travel here from all over the Pacific Northwest to celebrate themselves and each other, in what is often the only safe and open environment that they may experience for the year. Pride Northwest is particularly committed to providing the Pride celebration, in order to create a safe and celebratory environment for our young people. Find more information about Portland Pride programs online.
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Why move to Workday payroll and time tracking?
Individual Benefits
- Access to one robust system for employee services such as:
- Time off (leave) balances in real-time
- Approved time off will update your timesheet automatically
- View paystubs
- Initiate and update direct deposit authorizations
- View and update tax withholding elections
- Ability to access the platform from the Workday app or anywhere you have an internet connection.
Organizational Benefits
- Authorized users can view reports with both HR and payroll data
- Access to payroll and financial reporting in real time
- Reduce agencies' carbon footprint by minimizing paper-based processes
- Increased payroll efficiency including:
- Business rules built into the system such as calculating shift differentials and overtime
- Employee entered direct deposit authorizations
- Employee tax withholding elections (W-4)
Training is Coming
The Workday Payroll and Time Tracking Replacement Project team is developing training materials to assist in the transition to Workday Payroll and Time Tracking.
On May 9, ODA launched the Oregon Disaster Assistance Program (ODAP) for farmers and ranchers who suffered financial losses during one or more of the natural disasters that hit Oregon in 2021. As of May 21, our lending partners have received more than 115 applications totaling $8.4 million. All applications are due by June 3, 2022.
The $40 million program includes forgivable loans for eligible farmers. ODAP is designed to complement USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) disaster assistance, contact your local FSA office for additional information. For more information about ODAP please visit ODA’s ODAP webpage.
ODAP applications are available through a participating lending institution near you. ODAP will be administered by four chosen lenders familiar with agriculture. Lenders who are accepting applications:
- Umpqua Bank
- Columbia Bank
- Bank of Eastern Oregon
- Old West Federal Credit Union
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Congratulations to Ben Krahn, our CAUSE for APPLAUSE May recipient!
Ben’s outstanding efforts in the workplace and dedication doing not only his job but also additional brand inspection duties is the motivation for this recognition.
With a shortage of brand inspectors, Ben was recruited to help the brands team, ensuring Oregon’s livestock owners can continue to do business. In the fall of 2021 and now in 2022, Ben has performed his job as a CAFO livestock specialist and added brand inspector duties to his daily work.
ODA is actively recruiting for more brand inspectors to help lighten the load. Ben gets calls 24-hours a day, seven (7) days a week to do brand inspections, as is the norm in the Brands Program. As a farmer, Ben knows how important this work is to support our animal agriculture sector. Thank you, Ben, for always being the first to volunteer and offer a helping hand. Please help me in congratulating and thanking Ben Krahn!
Please nominate a coworker for a CAUSE for APPLAUSE recognition. Please send the nomination form to me at oda-director@oda.oregon.gov.
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Matthew Otten
Matthew Otten re-joins ODA Lab Services as a chemist after a 20 year break. He has done a lot of analytical chemistry and owned a restaurant during his time away from ODA. His most recent experience was directing a research and development chemistry lab at an Oregon-based hemp seed farm.
Matthew is excited to return to the Portland area after 17 years in Corvallis, and to work with familiar colleagues. He will be performing lab analyses for pesticides, fertilizers, and cannabis.
When he's not working, Matthew enjoys family time, performing in theater, and a proper nap.
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Gabriel Bendat
Gabriel Bendat is the International Trade and Market Development Intern at ODA through the end of the year. He studies Environmental Economics and Policy with a minor in Environmental Sciences at Oregon State University. Gabriel previously worked as a peer advocate at Oregon State University and was an educator at Multnomah County’s outdoor school program before that. In his time at ODA, Gabriel hopes to learn about the many aspects of government work and become an (emerging) expert on international trade. He hopes to make connections and experiences that will prepare him to start his career shortly after the internship. Outside of work and school, Gabriel enjoys hiking, biking, and reading outside.
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The USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Lane County, on May 17 and in Idaho near Malheur County on May 23. Due to federal and international disease control requirements, a regional quarantine for all avian species and vehicle traffic involved with avian species (under authority of ORS 596.402) has been issued for an area extending a minimum of 10 kilometers around the infected properties.
A map of the outbreak areas in Linn, Lane and Malheur counties and the quarantine areas is online. People may enter their address to determine whether they are included in the quarantine area.
This regional quarantine will prevent the movement of poultry from within the quarantine area for a period of time sufficient to allow state and federal officials to conduct surveillance within the quarantine area to ensure no additional cases of HPAI exist. The quarantine also applies to importation of all birds from states where a state or federal quarantined area due to HPAI exists.
Organizers of events involving birds must immediately inform the Oregon State Veterinarian of any scheduled events. Additionally, they must share the new rules with the event exhibitors and vendors.
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On May 17, ODA launched the Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Suppression Program. In response to the severe outbreak, in 2021, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 5561 (SB 5561) to provide funds and resources to support a grasshopper and Mormon cricket control and suppression cost-sharing program. More than $4 million is allocated for suppression/treatment and more than $800,000 for pre-treatment and post-treatment surveys.
Participation in the Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Survey and Suppression Program is open to private landowners and land managers for properties within the state of Oregon.
How to apply
- Complete an Oregon grasshopper and Mormon cricket outbreak reporting form and request a site survey. https://oda.fyi/GHMC
- Based on survey results, treat all or a portion of the ODA recommended acreage and location.
- Complete and submit the reimbursement form and IRS form W-9 before August 1, 2022. https://oda.direct/GHMCApp
Applicants may be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the actual cost for treatment, including product and application costs.
Approved treatments are with insect growth regulator diflubenzuron. This chemical is generally of low toxicity to humans, other mammals, birds, and honeybees.
To distribute 100 percent of the available funds, ODA will distribute them equally among those who apply for reimbursement. Because of this, ODA cannot state a specific reimbursement rate until we receive all reimbursement requests.
Please visit ODA online for questions about grasshoppers and Mormon crickets in Oregon, their control, and their impact on Oregon agriculture (https://oda.direct/GMC).
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The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $1.3M in grant funding to 20 organizations and county and tribal governments across the state to work on projects related to smoke management. The 2022 Smoke Management Grants were made available as part of Senate Bill 762 (2021), which promotes wildfire preparedness by creating fire-adapted communities, developing safe and effective wildfire and smoke responses and increasing the resiliency of Oregon’s landscape.
Grants support projects that create alternatives to outdoor burning of yard debris or slash, enhance tribes’ smoke preparedness, develop community response plans (CRP) and implement previously finalized CRPs. Grant recipients are tribes, local municipalities, counties, forest collaboratives and private businesses. View the full list of grant recipients and project titles at DEQ’s website.
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It’s been a rough couple of years. Between the fear and uncertainty during the pandemic, shifting cultural norms, global unrest, and rising costs, it’s been an unsettling time. Many people have been feeling depressed, fearful, and/or anxious. Now is a good time to ask yourself: How am I really doing?
Just like you visit the doctor for a physical check-up, it’s good to have an emotional check-up too. Mental/emotional health is an important part of your total well-being. In this edition, we’ll cover how to know when you need help, where to turn if you need a hand, and ways to overcome fears of seeking care.
Three things to know:
1. Mental/emotional health plays a big role in your overall health.
2. You can assess your mental/emotional health and overcome fears of getting help by starting small.
3. PEBB cares about your mental/emotional health offers tools, resources, and program to help your well-being.
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The latest information about your PERS retirement benefits will soon arrive in your mailbox.
In May, PERS began mailing member annual statements for 2021. These statements reflect data submitted by your employer as of December 31, 2021.
When you receive your statement, check that all your personal information is correct. If not, contact your employer if you are currently employed. If you are not currently employed, submit an Information Change Request form.
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All PERS members who have worked in a qualifying position since January 1, 2004, have two parts to their PERS retirement: a pension and an Individual Account Program (IAP) account. Both will be included on your statement.
If you meet the salary threshold for Member Redirect, your statement also will include information about your Employee Pension Stability Account (EPSA). EPSA will help pay for part of your pension benefit in retirement.
What resources can help me understand my statement?
Annual statement FAQs and resources are available on the PERS website.
Three key areas to review on your statement are:
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Your birthdate and other personal information, such as your address, hire date, and membership date. Your birth date is used to establish which age-based target-date fund (TDF) your IAP is invested in.
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Your service/retirement credit, which can affect the calculations that determine your monthly pension benefits in retirement.
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Your IAP information. This area shows you the investment returns for your target-date fund. Each fund has its own mix of investments, set by the Oregon Investment Council. Your investment returns may differ from other members who are in different TDFs.
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