The INDEPENDENT, December 17, 2009
Page 5
Federal grant $$ will hire state Print minimum wage posters from state web site
a move to contain costs
BOLI is also warning Orego- Technical Assistance for Em-
Domestic Violence Prosecutor and In preserve
limited budget re- nians to beware of any solicita- ployers Program at 971-673-
Attorney General John
Kroger today announced that
he will use federal grant money
to hire a Domestic Violence
Prosecutor.
“The rash of domestic-relat-
ed violence demonstrates the
overwhelming need to combat
this problem,” said Attorney
General Kroger. “It’s crucial
that we work together as a
state to reduce family abuse.”
Since the beginning of No-
vember, six women and three
children have been killed in a
rash of family-related abuse.
The Department of Justice is
seeking applicants for an As-
sistant Attorney General to
serve as the new Domestic Vi-
olence Prosecutor in the Crimi-
nal Justice Division.
“The Department of Justice
has an essential role to play in
the coordinated community re-
sponse to the public health and
safety crisis posed by domestic
violence in our state,” said
Sybil Hebb, director of legisla-
tive advocacy for the Oregon
LawCenter. “We are thrilled
that the new Domestic Violence
Prosecutor will be able to lead
the state’s best practice prose-
cution response to this epidem-
ic. Victim advocates look for-
ward to working with the new
position.”
Domestic violence and fami-
ly abuse take a great toll on
some of the most vulnerable
citizens in our state. District At-
torneys, law enforcement, and
service providers work hard to
respond to the needs in this
area. Through a grant under
the STOP Violence Against
Women Act, the Department of
Justice is now able to provide
support to increase the capabil-
ity of the state’s prosecutors
and the criminal justice system
to effectively identify, investi-
gate, and prosecute domestic
violence, sexual assault and
stalking.
The attorney selected for
this position will work coopera-
tively with statewide partners to
develop, coordinate and pro-
vide training programs for pros-
ecutors, law-enforcement offi-
cers, service providers and oth-
ers on issues of domestic vio-
lence, sexual assault and stalk-
ing. The attorney will also pro-
vide technical assistance and
legal research to prosecutors
and at times handle the prose-
cution of complex cases. The
attorney will develop training
materials, best-practice poli-
cies and other publications and
serve on councils, committees
and other groups as requested
to assist in the development of
a statewide approach to these
issues.
Bruce Goldberg, M.D., direc-
tor of Oregon Department of
Human Services, emphasized
the need for collaboration be-
tween his agency and the De-
partment of Justice.
“As a state we must find a
way to get women the immedi-
ate protection they need,” Dr.
Goldberg said. “We also must
reduce the culture of violence.
Fathers,
husbands,
and
boyfriends who need it must
get help, too.”
Attorney General John
Kroger leads the Oregon De-
partment of Justice. The De-
partment’s mission is to fight
crime and fraud, protect the en-
vironment, improve child wel-
fare, and defend the rights of all
Oregonians.
sources, the Wage and Hour
Division of the Oregon Bureau
of Labor and Industries (BOLI)
has opted not to mail copies of
the 2010 minimum wage poster
to Oregon’s 130,000 employ-
ers. The poster, which is re-
quired to be posted in all Ore-
gon workplaces, is available for
printing, free, on the agency’s
website: http://www.oregon.gov
/BOLI/CRD/C_Postings.shtml.
BOLI staff estimates that the
move will save the agency
about $31,000 each year.
“This small change saves
thousands of dollars in BOLI’s
budget and will not harm Ore-
gon employers,” said Commis-
sioner Brad Avakian, chief of
BOLI. “With each required
poster available on our website
for free, employers can print
exactly as many as they need
for their worksites and BOLI
can focus its resources on pro-
viding technical assistance for
employers and enforcing the
law.”
WU: Help for County
transportation needs
From Page 1
has inadequate transit services
for commuters, residents, vet-
erans, and elderly and dis-
abled individuals. Public transit
ridership in Columbia County
grew 85 percent in 2008, the
largest growth of all transit
agencies in Oregon. Funds
would be used to purchase
land and construct a multi-
modal public transit facility, in-
cluding an administration of-
fice, vehicle maintenance and
storage facility, and park-n-
ride/pool facility, which would
be based in St. Helens. The fa-
cility would serve as a major
public transit hub in Columbia
County for all users, including
commuters,
demand-re-
sponse, and dial-a-ride coordi-
nation and administration, as
well as the maintenance of ve-
hicles provided county-wide.
These projects are included
in a partial omnibus that com-
bines multiple appropriations
bills, including Transportation
and Housing and Urban Devel-
opment; Commerce, Justice
and Science; Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Ed-
ucation; Military Construction
and Veterans Affairs; and State
and Foreign Operations.
tions from businesses that sell
required postings for profit. Em-
ployers need to know that all
legally required postings are
available free from the issuing
agency. BOLI also sells a com-
posite poster, the eight most
commonly required postings to-
gether on one 24" x 39" page,
for just $10 – about a quarter of
what for-profit companies
charge.
Oregon workers with ques-
tions about legal wages should
contact the Wage and Hour Di-
vision at 971-673-0761 in Port-
land, 503-378-3292 in Salem or
541-686-7623 in Eugene. Em-
ployers with questions about
minimum wage or any other
employment law should call the
0824. Additional information
for both employees and em-
ployers is available at www.ore-
gon. gov/boli.
The Bureau of Labor and In-
dustries defends the rights of
workers and citizens to equal,
nondiscriminatory treatment in
workplaces, housing and public
accommodations and encour-
ages and enforces compliance
with state laws relating to
wages, hours, terms and condi-
tions of employment. The bu-
reau also partners with busi-
ness and labor organizations to
build a skilled workforce in Ore-
gon and trains employers to un-
derstand and comply with civil
rights and other labor and em-
ployment laws.