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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2016)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, April 20, 2016 A9 Wage rules 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. Em- ployees who work for more than four hours per week in another re- gion 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 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 for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. The agency will hold a public hearing at 2 p.m. April 25 at the Portland State Ofice Building, Room 1B, 800 N.E. Oregon St. The agency also will accept comments until May 22. The agency expects to inalize the rules by June. The irst-of-its-kind law takes ef- fect July 1, bumping up the state’s minimum wage from $9.25 to $9.75 statewide. 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 the rest of the state. That’s when the proposed rules could become complicated for some employers. For example, an employee who works in Salem for 35 hours and in Portland for ive hours per week in 2017 would earn $10.25 per hour for the time in Salem and $11.25 per hour for the time in Portland. The new law, passed in February, directed the labor bureau to make the rules relating to employer location. Determining how to pay employ- ees who work in different 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 re- gional 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 em- ployer is located. There is not a lot of meeting in the middle,” Sparks said. Committee members are the NW Grocery Associations, Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Associa- tion, Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Association of Nurseries, Associa- tion of Oregon Industries, Oregon Business Association, PCUN, AFL- CIO, Family Forward, SEIU, CAU- SA and Oregon Center for Public Policy. Representatives from the ofices of Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, and Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, serve on the committee. Under the law, the minimum gradually climbs to $14.75 in 2022 in the Portland urban growth bound- ary, which includes parts of Mult- nomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. It will rise to $13.50 in Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, De- schutes, Hood River, Jackson, Jose- phine, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco and Yam- hill counties, and parts of Mult- nomah, Clackamas and Washington counties outside Portland’s urban growth boundary. In rural areas, the wage increas- es to $12.50. Those areas include Malheur, Lake, Harney, Wheeler, Sherman, Gilliam, Wallowa, Grant, Jefferson, Baker, Union, Crook, Klamath, Douglas, Coos, Curry, Umatilla and Morrow counties. Deadline extended for County geographic “squaw” references renamed Title II project proposals Creek after a notable Paiute chief — was Cogswell said the Grant County supported by the county and the tribes, he changes are part of a process of changing Blue Mountain Eagle Blue Mountain Eagle The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has conirmed seven new members of the Northeast Oregon Forests Resource Advisory Commit- tee. The NEOFRAC now has full membership and will convene in June 2016 to recommend project propos- als to improve or restore nation- al forests in the Blue Mountains. The NEOFRAC meeting will be held at the John Day Airport in June. More details will be released when a inal date and meet- ing agenda is determined. Year-two Title II propos- als were originally due on April 1, but the deadline has been extended to April 22. Nonproit organizations, local governments and oth- ers are encouraged to pro- pose projects that restore watersheds, decommission or maintain roads, control noxious weeds, enhance recreational experiences or otherwise improve the condition of the forest. Pro- posed projects do not need to be implemented on Forest Service lands, but must show a beneit to na- tional forest re- sources. Application forms, instruc- tions and sub- mission guide- lines can be found online at www.fs.us- da.gov/main/wallowa-whit- man/workingtogether/advi- sorycommittees. New Title II projects must be initiated by Sept. 30, 2017, and all Ti- tle II funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2018. For more information, contact Susan Garner, sc- garner@fs.fed.us, 541-575- 3039. Family Owned Since 1927 The federal agency responsible for naming natural features has changed 13 names in Grant County that contained the word “squaw.” Thursday, the U.S. Board on Geo- graphic Names approved ive names pro- posed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and seven proposed by the Grant County Court as alternatives to the tribal proposals, ac- cording to Oregon Geographic Names Board President Phil Cogswell. One replacement name — Wewa said. “It appears that the BGN took into ac- count both tribal and county concerns as it made its decision from two competing lists,” Cogswell said after he was notiied of the federal action. The Oregon board, an afiliate of the Oregon Historical Society, assists the federal board in reviewing proposals for Oregon and makes recommendations on them. Neither board initiates proposals, but rather, they deal with those received from individuals or entities. “squaw” names that began in Oregon in the mid-1990s and has led to more than 80 names being changed in Oregon and more than 250 nationally on the basis that many American Indian people consider the word offensive and derogatory. In all, the U.S. board action affects the names of one rock, three meadows and nine streams in the county. The next edition of the Blue Moun- tain Eagle will include a map detailing the new names for the locations in Grant County. Prescribed burns planned in Malheur National Forest Blue Mountain Eagle Malheur National Forest fire managers are evaluating conditions for conducting prescribed burns across the forest this spring. As part of Malheur’s hazardous fuels reduction program, each of the three districts are preparing for spring landscape prescribed burning in various areas of the forest. Burning planned may in- clude these units: • Emigrant Creek Ranger District: Dairy and George. • Prairie City Ranger District: Knox. • Blue Mountain Ranger District: Crawford Creek, Balance, Damon and 18 Road. Burning may have some short-term impacts on air quality levels, but any burn- ing activity will be done during weather conditions that should minimize the impact of smoke on local communities. Updates and maps will be available at fs.usda.gov/ malheur. For more information, call one of the local For- est Service offices: Blue Mountain, 541-575-3000; Emigrant Creek, 541-541- 573-4300; or Prairie City, 541-820-3800. OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER Get the inside scoop on state government and politics! We’re investing in Salem coverage when other news organizations are cutting back. OregonCapitalInsider.com
