From bob.estabrook at state.or.us Mon Oct 3 16:07:40 2011 From: bob.estabrook at state.or.us (Bob Estabrook) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2011 16:07:40 -0700 Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Avakian Seeks Nominations for Business Awards Message-ID: <4E89DDCB.919A.00CA.0@boli.state.or.us> Press Release For Immediate Distribution October 3, 2011 CONTACT: Bob Estabrook, 503-709-0730 Avakian Seeks Nominations of Outstanding Oregon Employers State Labor Commissioner will present 3rd Annual BOLI Business Leadership Awards PORTLAND?Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, head of the state?s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), has announced the opening of nominee submissions for the 3rd Annual BOLI Business Leadership Awards. These awards are intended to provide distinction to a select group of businesses that go above and beyond the call of duty in supporting civil rights and equal opportunity, fair workplaces, and developing Oregon?s workforce through employee training. The awards ceremony will take place on December 1 at the 27th Annual BOLI Employment Law Conference in Portland. ?Oregon is a great state, home to businesses that exemplify the spirit of BOLI?s mission in their work every day,? said Commissioner Avakian. ?As the state?s champion for civil rights, fair workplaces and workforce development, we want to recognize some of those businesses for their exceptional efforts.? BOLI Business Leadership Awards will be presented in three categories: Civil Rights Champion, won last year by Verde of Portland; Fair Workplace Champion, won last year by Continental Mills of Pendleton and MaPS Credit Union of Salem; and Workforce Development Champion, won last year by Columbia River Bar Pilots of Astoria. Nominations are open for just five weeks: now through November 7. Nominees must be businesses or non-profit employers currently operating primarily within Oregon, or with headquarters in Oregon. Awards will be determined based on information provided in the nomination form, as well as the nominee?s company size and geographic location. What: BOLI Business Leadership Awards Who: Presented by BOLI Commissioner Brad Avakian When: Nominations are due by 5pm on Monday, November 7, 2011 Where: Nomination forms and additional information are available at www.oregon.gov/boli/ How: Submit nominations by email to Bob.Estabrook at state.or.us Or by fax to 971-673-0762 The Bureau of Labor and Industries defends the rights of all Oregonians to equal, nondiscriminatory treatment in workplaces, housing and public accommodations and encourages and enforces compliance with state laws relating to wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment. The bureau also partners with business and labor organizations to build a skilled workforce in Oregon and trains employers to understand and comply with civil rights and other labor and employment laws. ##### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpg Size: 7303 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 10.03.11 BOLI Release - Business Awards.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 51047 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bob.estabrook at state.or.us Thu Oct 13 11:26:22 2011 From: bob.estabrook at state.or.us (Bob Estabrook) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:26:22 -0700 Subject: NEWS RELEASE: BOLI Message-ID: <4E96CADD.919A.00CA.0@boli.state.or.us> Press Release For Immediate Distribution October 13, 2011 CONTACT: Bob Estabrook, BOLI 503-709-0730 Craig Smith, CCB 503-934-2185 Seven Contractor Judgments for Wage and Hour Violations Referred to CCB BOLI and the CCB working together to ensure payment of over $240,000 owed to workers, agencies PORTLAND ?The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) and the Construction Contractors Board (CCB) are teaming up to ensure that outstanding judgments for unpaid employee wages and penalties for wage and hour violations are being paid. Under the partnership, BOLI will refer construction contractors who do not comply with wage and hour law by failing to pay earned wages to their workers to the CCB, which may suspend the contractor?s CCB license. Judgments for wages are obtained only after a claim has been fully investigated, wages have been determined to be owed and the employer has had an opportunity to refute the claim, either through the administrative law process or through a court of law. Of six licensed construction contractors with outstanding unpaid wage and penalty judgments already referred to CCB, four have reached payment schedule settlements, totaling $211,888.50. The remaining two contractors have seen their CCB licenses suspended due to failure to pay unpaid wage and penalty judgments; BOLI has just made its seventh referral. ?I?m excited about this partnership,? commented BOLI Commissioner Brad Avakian. ?These bad business practices hurt both workers who count on their paychecks to put food on the table and also law-abiding contractors who are put at a disadvantage when their competition can ignore wage law and outstanding claim judgments, and continue business as usual.? In recent months, outstanding judgments against Reed Plastering and Stucco, Nu West Contractors and I Will Floor You Flooring were referred to the CCB, and each contractor set up a payment plan to pay off judgments of $7,798.00, $49,150.50, and $4,940.00 respectively. All may continue to operate their businesses so long as their judgments are paid pursuant to the payment plans. Similarly, Larson Construction, which owes $150,000.00 in civil penalties to BOLI, continues to operate while it complies with a payment plan. Two additional contractors, Creative Carpenters and Venegas Construction, saw their CCB licenses suspended after failing to comply with an administrative law judge?s order to pay wages and penalties. Both were found liable for wages and penalties, owed to their workers, and both refused to pay or arrange a payment schedule. Including the just referred seventh judgment, for $13,000.00 in civil penalties against E.H. Glaab, General Contractor, BOLI and CCB are jointly working to ensure that $241,260.51 in owed wages and penalties is paid as ordered. ?It?s important that the bad actors are held accountable for unlawful and unethical behavior,? said CCB director Craig Smith. BOLI?s Wage and Hour Division enforces laws related to wages, working conditions, and public works employment. Following a hearing with a judgment against an employer, the employer may pay wages and penalties in a lump sum or arrange a payment schedule. If the judgment is not paid, BOLI may now refer a construction contractor employer to the CCB, and the CCB may, after an administrative hearing, suspend the license of the employer. The CCB regulates construction contractors and promotes a competitive business environment through education, contractor licensing, dispute resolution, and law enforcement. The Enforcement Section seeks to provide an effective deterrent to illegal activity in the construction industry by acting on complaints, referrals from law enforcement and regulatory agencies such as BOLI, and information obtained while monitoring the Oregon construction industry. Oregon law requires anyone who works for compensation in any construction activity involving improvements to real property to be licensed with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. For more about BOLI, visit http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI. For more about the CCB, visit http://www.oregon.gov/CCB. ###### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpg Size: 7303 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpg Size: 13457 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 10.13.11 BOLI Release - CCB Referrals.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 53489 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bob.estabrook at state.or.us Thu Oct 20 11:46:33 2011 From: bob.estabrook at state.or.us (Bob Estabrook) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:46:33 -0700 Subject: Information Columns for Oregon Employers Message-ID: <4EA00A1B.919A.00CA.0@boli.state.or.us> Please route to business/employer and/or state/local government editors. Attached are advice columns drafted by the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Technical Assistance for Employers Program (TA) for this week and last week. They deal with veterans' preference in public employment, which is a potentially tricky issue that state and local government agencies must navigate. These are the first and second installments in a series of three columns, with the upcoming third column to address additional/new questions. The attached columns are examples of what is a regular service available from TA: educational information for employers, public and private, on issues that they face in their workplaces and particularly the laws with which they must comply. Several Oregon news outlets regularly carry information from TA, and we plan to begin sending it to our general statewide list of media contacts. If there is a specific email address where you would like this type of information sent, please notify me by reply email. If there are particular topics you would like to see covered by the expert trainers from BOLI TA, please send those suggestions as well. For additional examples, check out http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA/T_Newspaper_Columns.shtml. Thank you for your assistance in getting valuable information out to Oregon employers! Bob Estabrook Office of the Commissioner Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: BOLI TA Column 10-17-2011 Veterans Preference 2 of 3.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 23108 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bob.estabrook at state.or.us Tue Oct 25 11:47:23 2011 From: bob.estabrook at state.or.us (Bob Estabrook) Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:47:23 -0700 Subject: PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE - Oregon Council on Civil Rights meets this Thursday, Oct. 27 References: <4EA69768020000CA0002F89F@mail.boli.state.or.us> <4EA6A1CB020000CA0002F8B3@mail.boli.state.or.us> Message-ID: <4EA6A1CC.919A.00CA.0@boli.state.or.us> Meeting Notice Oregon Council on Civil Rights (OCCR) Portland State Office Building 800 NE Oregon Street, Conference Room 1A Thursday, October 27, 2011 1:00-4:00 PM For additional information about the Oregon Council on Civil Rights, its mission and membership, please visit: http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/CRD/OCCR.shtml. Questions regarding the meeting and OCCR can be directed to Amy Klare, BOLI Civil Rights Administrator, at 971-673-0764 or amy.k.klare at state.or.us. Accommodations are available to allow individuals with disabilities to access and participate in this event. To request an accommodation, please contact Christine Lewis at 971-673-0795 or christine.lewis at state.or.us. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 10.27.11 OCCR Meeting Notice.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 39213 bytes Desc: not available URL: