Labor Commissioner Announces Service Cuts in Employer Assistance Program

Revenue shortfall forces cancellation of seminars, further delays inpublications.

Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Brad Avakian

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries,Brad Avakian, announced a serious cutback in services offered by BOLI’s Technical Assistance for Employers Program (TA).

The TA Program exists to answer employer questions about labor and employment law, from meal and rest periods to family and medical leave requirements, and operates a no-cost phone/email hotline as well as selling handbooks and teaching seminars.

Due to declining revenues for the program, which receives no taxpayer money to support staffing or service costs, Commissioner Avakian has reluctantly ordered service level reductions in TA.

“These service reductions are appalling,” Avakian said.

“Reducing assistance to employers when they are already in a bad economic situation is the last thing we want to do, but with no other revenue to support these service there isn’t any other option.”

TA’s current workload includes an average of 150 calls and emails per day for the unit’s three program coordinators, who are the same people who conduct the seminars and write the employer handbooks.

The reduced service levels mean elimination of almost half the seminars scheduled for March through June, including 13 in the Metro Area, two in the mid-Willamette Valley, and one each in Roseburg and Bend; delayed production and sale of the Wage & Hour Laws handbook, which was originally scheduled for release in February; and fewer and less frequent postings of assistance articles on TA’s website and in employer publications.

These service reductions are in addition to the reduced hours of operation for the TA employer hotline, which were recently cut in half due to declining revenue.

Avakian continued: “I have great respect for the dedicated employees of our Technical Assistance unit, and want the best for the employers that they serve. BOLI has requested General Fund support from the Legislature to keep this unit afloat, and I remain as optimistic as possible that new money will arrive. If it does, we will be able tobring TA back to the service level that it should be providing.”

BOLI’s TA program works to educate employers and help them avoid mistakes that can place them in violation of state and federal employment laws. The unit continues to offer various services, both free and for-charge, with information available at oregon.gov/BOLI/TA or by calling 971-673-0824.