From charlie.burr at state.or.us Wed Sep 16 08:50:12 2015 From: charlie.burr at state.or.us (Burr, Charlie) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2015 15:50:12 +0000 Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Avakian: Oregon's minimum wage will not increase in 2016 Message-ID: <6376A41CAD6C3E4F8A65385BDA4072616DFA9D87@D5DAG1B.D5.USA.NET> [cid:image001.png at 01D0F05A.D2F24500] For Immediate Release September 16, 2015 CONTACT: Charlie Burr, (971) 673-0788 office Avakian: Oregon's minimum wage will not increase in 2016 It's time to raise wages and strengthen economy, says Avakian PORTLAND-Despite rising housing, child care and other household costs, Oregon's minimum wage will remain $9.25 in 2016, Commissioner Brad Avakian announced today. Each year, Commissioner Avakian calculates the minimum wage by measuring the increase to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a federal figure published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics to track prices for a fixed "market basket" of urban goods. The figure helps track inflation across the country, but does not fully capture local cost increases, such as skyrocketing rents in the Portland or Eugene metro areas. About 100,000 workers - six percent of the state's workforce - currently earn the minimum wage. For full-time workers, Oregon's wage floor translates to less than $20,000 a year. "It's time to take action on wages," said Labor Commissioner Avakian. "The reality is that Oregon's wage floor is not keeping pace with the rising cost of rent, child care and other expenses. We should raise our state's minimum wage so that people working full-time can afford to provide for their families." A common misconception about employees earning a minimum wage is that they are mostly teenagers. However, according to the Economic Policy Institute, roughly 80-percent of all minimum wage workers living in states with an indexed minimum wage are at least 20 years old. Women are also disproportionally affected: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 62 percent of all minimum wage earners nationwide are women. "A strong wage floor is an important foundation for family economic security," said Avakian. "By passing a higher minimum wage, Oregon can help families struggling to make ends meet while boosting the purchasing power of hundreds of thousands of Oregonians around the state." As Labor Commissioner, Avakian both sets the state's minimum wage and oversees its enforcement. In 2013, Commissioner Avakian testified before the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in support of Sen. Tom Harken's efforts to boost the federal minimum wage. In 2014, Avakian was the first statewide official to call for a minimum wage increase. ### Charlie Burr Communications Director Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries 800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 1045 Portland, Oregon 97232 Tel: 971-673-0788 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 8969 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From charlie.burr at state.or.us Wed Sep 23 08:57:35 2015 From: charlie.burr at state.or.us (Burr, Charlie) Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:57:35 +0000 Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Avakian on P Club ruling: All Oregonians deserve fair treatment under law Message-ID: <6376A41CAD6C3E4F8A65385BDA4072616DFAABB3@D5DAG1B.D5.USA.NET> [cid:image003.png at 01D0F5DD.E33FEF60] For Immediate Release September 23, 2015 CONTACT: Charlie Burr, (971) 673-0788 Avakian on P Club ruling: All Oregonians deserve fair treatment Case represents first commissioner's complaint filed under landmark 2007 civil rights law PORTLAND, OR-The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld a landmark civil rights decision against a North Portland bar that discriminated against transgender patrons in violation of the Oregon Equality Act of 2007. The case represents the first Commissioner's Complaint filed under the law. Under Oregon law, Oregonians may not be denied full and equal service based on sexual orientation. The law provides an exemption for religious organizations and schools, but does not allow private business owners to discriminate based on sexual orientation, just as they cannot legally deny service based on race, sex, age, disability or religion. In 2013, investigators with the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) found substantial evidence of unlawful discrimination, including phone messages from bar owner Chris Penner asking a group of transgender patrons to stop visiting the establishment because he didn't want the P Club known as a "tranny bar" or "gay bar". In response to the Court of Appeals ruling, Commissioner Avakian issued the following statement: "Oregonians deserve to be treated fairly under law. Our agency is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Oregonians so that people are not denied employment, housing or access to public places based on who they are or who they love." The Court of Appeals rejected all arguments made by the Respondents, including the Respondents' contention that the discriminatory voicemails represented protected speech. The P Club Final Order cites the standard of what constitutes a denial of service from an earlier BOLI discrimination case in which a black woman was found to have been denied full and equal access to a place of public accommodation (In the Matter of The Pub, 6 BOLI 270 (1987)). For more information about BOLI's efforts to protect workplaces and the civil rights of all Oregonians, visit http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI. ### Charlie Burr Communications Director Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries 800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 1045 Portland, Oregon 97232 Tel: 971-673-0788 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 7699 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: