3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016
Wage rules would require employers to track workers
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Proposed rules
for Oregon’s new three-tiered,
regional minimum wage law
would require employers to
pay employees based on where
the employee actually works.
Starting in 2017, employers
will have to track not only the
hours their employees work
but also the location, under the
draft rules. Employees who
work for more than four hours
per week in another region
would earn that region’s wage
for those hours.
“Let’s say they just did a
brief meeting or a short job
that took less than four hours,
they would get the same pay. If
they do more than four hours,
say they do half of the week
in one region and half of the
week in another region, then
they would have to pay two
separate rates,” said Paloma
Sparks, legislative director for
the state Bureau of Labor and
Industries.
7he ¿ rst-of-its-kind law
takes effect July 1, bumping
up the state’s minimum wage
from $9.25 to $9.75 state-
wide. In 2017, wage increases
will diverge according to
region. By 2022, wages will
reach $14.75 in the Portland
area, $12.50 in most rural and
coastal counties and $13.50 in
Clatsop County and the rest of
the state.
That’s when the proposed
rules could become compli-
cated for some employers.
For example, an employee
who works in Salem for 35
hours and in Portland for ¿ ve
hours per week in 2017 would
earn $10.25 per hour for the
time in Salem and $11.25 per
‘The worker advocates would like the
threshold to be a lot lower, like one hour;
employer advocates would like it to be
where the employer is located. There is
not a lot of meeting in the middle.’
Paloma Sparks
legislative director, state Bureau of Labor and Industries.
hour for the time in Portland.
The new law, passed in
February, directed the labor
bureau to make the rules relat-
ing to employer location.
Determining how to pay
employees who work in differ-
ent locations is the main issue
the agency is trying to resolve
with the rules, Sparks said.
An advisory committee
has helped to shape the rules.
There is little agreement about
how the regional wage should
be determined, Sparks said.
“The worker advocates
would like the threshold to
be a lot lower, like one hour;
employer advocates would like
it to be where the employer is
located. There is not a lot of
meeting in the middle,” Sparks
said.
Committee members are
the NW Grocery Associa-
tions, Oregon Restaurant and
Lodging Association, Oregon
Farm Bureau, Oregon Associ-
ation of Nurseries, Association
of Oregon Industries, Oregon
Business Association, PCUN,
AFL-CIO, Family Forward,
SEIU, CAUSA and Oregon
Center for Public Policy. Rep-
resentatives from the of¿ ces of
state Sen. Michael Dembrow,
D-Portland, and Rep. Paul
Holvey, D-Eugene, serve on
the committee.
Under the law, the mini-
mum wage gradually climbs to
$14.75 in 2022 in the Portland
urban growth boundary, which
includes parts of Multnomah,
Washington and Clackamas
counties. It will rise to $13.50
in Benton, Clatsop, Colum-
bia, Deschutes, Hood River,
Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Lin-
coln, Linn, Marion, Polk, Til-
lamook, Wasco and Yamhill
counties, and parts of Mult-
nomah, Clackamas and Wash-
ington counties outside Port-
land’s urban growth boundary.
In rural areas, the wage
increases to $12.50. Those
areas include Malheur, Lake,
Harney, Wheeler, Sherman,
Gilliam, Wallowa, Grant, Jef-
ferson, Baker, Union, Crook,
Klamath, Douglas, Coos,
Curry, Umatilla and Morrow
counties.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Unemployment at 4.5
Opioid abuse focus of summit in Seaside
percent in Clatsop County
cle accidents,” Dr. Sa¿ na
Koreishi, medical director
SEASIDE — The
for Columbia Paci¿ c, said
Columbia Paci¿ c Coordi-
in a statement. “This epi-
nated Care Organization
demic has reached a very
and the Oregon Coalition
concerning level and we
for the Responsible Use of
need to engage everyone
Meds will hold a summit
in the community to help
in Seaside later this month
solve it.”
to address the abuse of
In February, Koreishi
opioids.
Dr. Safina Koreish met with U.S. Surgeon
The event will bring
General Dr. Vivek Mur-
together members of the
thy to discuss the opioid
medical community, pharmacies, epidemic and will share the informa-
educators, law enforcement, public tion she learned with the community
health and the community .
at the summit.
“Opioid overdose kills more
The summit will be from 8:30
people every year than motor vehi- a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 28 and
The Daily Astorian
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County’s unemployment
rate in March was 4.5 percent, the state
Employment Department reported.
The county’s seasonally adjusted
rate was down slightly from the pre-
vious month (4.6 percent), and even
more from the year prior (5.3 percent).
Oregon’s unemployment rate fell to a
record low 4.5 percent in March. The
U.S. rate was 5 percent. .
March Feb. 1-yr.
In March, the county added 100
Area
2016 2016 ago
jobs, 80 fewer than expected, leav-
ing seasonally adjusted nonfarm pay- Clatsop
4.5
4.6 5.3
roll employment at 17,760. That level
6
6.2 6.9
was 160 more than the year prior, for a Columbia
growth rate of nearly 1 percent.
4.8
5
5.4
Through March, food manufac- Tillamook
turing cut 50 jobs, and retail trade 40.
4.5
4.8 5.7
Leisure and hospitality added 170 Oregon
positions. Over the past year, retail
5
4.9 5.5
trade (130) and leisure and hospitality U.S.
(80) added the most jobs, while manu- *Preliminary, seasonaly adjusted rates.
facturing lost 60 and state government Source: Oregon Employment Department
another 40.
Jobless rates
for March *
Daily Astorian graphic
Columbia County
Columbia County’s seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate in March
was 6 percent, down slightly from
the previous month (6.2 percent) and
even more from the previous year (6.9
percent).
In March, the county added 100
jobs, 60 more than expected, leaving
seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll
employment at 10,490, a growth rate
of 1.2 percent over the year prior.
Through March, trade, transporta-
tion and utilities gained 30 jobs, along
with 20 in professional and business
services and 30 in local government
education. Over the past year, man-
ufacturing added 30 jobs, and leisure
and hospitality another 30, while con-
struction cut 50 positions.
Tillamook County
Tillamook County’s season-
ally adjusted unemployment rate
in March was 4.8 percent, down
slightly from the previous month
(5 percent) and even more from the
previous year (5.4 percent).
In March, the county added 80
jobs, 20 more than expected, leav-
ing nonfarm payroll employment
at 8,880, 60 more than the year
prior.
Through March, food manu-
facturing added 30 jobs, and lei-
sure and hospitality another 70.
Over the past year, manufactur-
ing added 80 positions, and retail
trade another 40, while the finan-
cial industry dropped 30.
Clatskanie mayor’s
husband sentenced
to years of probation
include experts from across Ore-
gon to discuss opioid prescribing,
overdose and addiction. It will have
breakout sessions including health
care professionals, law enforcement
and the general community.
The intended outcome of the
event is to identify the challenges
and solutions for reducing prescrip-
tion drug abuse, misuse and over-
dose, and to draft community action
plans.
Registration is open at www.
colpachealth.org and www.orcrm.
org. The cost will be $25 per per-
son, including breakfast, lunch
and materials. Scholarships will be
available.
Banks, Grand Ronde tribes sign
agreement to keep Braves logo
Associated Press
Associated Press
PORTLAND — The husband of Clatskanie’s
mayor has pleaded guilty to public indecency
charges for exposing himself at a drive-thru cof-
fee stand.
Sixty-four-year-old Raymond Pohl was sen-
tenced Tuesday to three years of probation and
ordered to complete a sex offender treatment
program. He previously pleaded not guilty to 30
counts of indecent exposure, but 28 counts were
dropped as part of a plea deal.
Court documents say Pohl exposed his gen-
itals repeatedly to an employee at the coffee
stand for two years until September 2015. The
victim had told police the incidents were unso-
licited and unwanted. KGW-TV reported a
statement from the victim read in court Tues-
day says she’s faced threats from the public after
coming forward.
Pohl is the husband of Clatskanie Mayor
Diane Pohl and a former member of the city’s
planning commission.
BANKS — Of¿ cials with
the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde and the Banks
School District have signed an
agreement to keep the Braves
logo and mascot in schools.
The Oregonian reported
that Banks High School will be
allowed to continue using the
Braves name, but will adopt a
tribe-designed mascot, remove
any of the old logos and incor-
porate a Grand Ronde-crafted
Native American history curric-
ulum into social studies classes.
Banks is about 60 miles from
the Grand Ronde headquarters.
The state Department of
Education published rules in
January allowing the 14 high
schools in Oregon that have
Native American mascots to
secure permission from one of
Oregon’s nine tribes in order to
keep the names.
Marcola, Philomath and
Roseburg have also sent infor-
mation to the state indicating
they are working with a tribe.
The Warrenton-Hammond
School District is discussing
whether to remove all Native
American imagery from the
district’s Warrior-themed mas-
cot. The district had pursued
talks with the Grand Ronde,
but Superintendent Mark Jef-
fery recommended not going
through the process to keep a
mascot some ¿ nd offensive.
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Consult a
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
PROFESSIONAL
Q:
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503-325-2300
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to get started with a
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A :
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Farm & Garden
34963 Hwy. 101 Business
Astoria • 503 - 325-1562
For beautiful gardens
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www.brimsfarmngarden.com
should I
Q: When
bring my child to
A :
JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR
DMD, FAGD
503/325-0310
1414 MARINE DRIVE,
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www.smileastoria.com
Ap ril 21 st
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360-921-2071
are the
open access days
Q: When
and times at
the dentist for the
first check-up?
Before this first appointment,
it is very important for all to
realize that the child’s teeth are very
important in the development of his/her jaw.
As soon as they begin to erupt, at approx. 6
months, it is so important to keep the baby
teeth cleaned. You may use a soft brush or a
finger gauze. Baby teeth accumulate plaque
and bacteria just as adult teeth. Also, please
be aware and careful of nighttime nursing
bottles and a lack of cleaning the child’s
teeth which may lead to a condition called
nursing bottle syndrome (lots of decay).
If all this is followed, teeth look good,
child has no complaints, then first visit
somewhere around age 2-1/2 to 3 is a
good time to check.
Yes, we have books, pamphlets
on feeds and a handout that
walks you through getting your baby
chicks off to a great start. Also, this
Wed. April 27, we are offering a free
poultry workshop at the store from
6:00-7:00 pm. You will be able to ask
questions about how to raise a chick to
an egg-laying hen or learn about how to
grow your own organic meat birds.
Give is a call to register or e-mail us
at lindabrim@gmail.com so we will
have plenty of supplies on hand for you.
We will have door prizes and drawing.
A :
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CLATSOP
BEHAVIORAL
HEALTHCARE
“Helping People Live Well”
65 N. Hwy. 101 Ste.204
Warrenton
503-325-5722
Clatsop Behavioral
Healthcare?
6th Annual Old Time Logger’s
No one will be turned away.
Reunion
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Astoria 1 to 3:30 pm
Seaside 1 to 3:30 pm
Astoria 8 to 10:30 am
Astoria 1 to 3:30 pm
Astoria 1 to 3:30 pm and
Seaside 1 to 3:30 pm
Astoria address is
2120 Exchange Street, Suite 203 and
Seaside Address is
318 S Holladay .
For more information, call 503.325.5722
1014+0)';'4*#'75'44#;5+8'4#/2
/2.1;''5EMIIgEMLG
Saturday April 23rd 10am-3pm
Appelo Archives Center
1056 SR4 Naselle, WA 98638
360-484-7103