Court Blocks Vaccine Mandate; Oregon OSHA Scraps Rule |
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The United States Supreme Court on Jan. 13 blocked enforcement of one of two employer mandates issued by the Biden administration in an effort to slow the spread of COVID.
In an unsigned opinion supported by six justices, the court invalidated an emergency regulation for large employers issued in November 2021 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The mandate compels most employers with more than 100 workers to require them to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing. According to the Jan. 13 opinion, the Biden administration lacks the unilateral authority to impose the mandate. The court noted that OSHA has the authority to enact workplace protections, not broad public health measures, and that the rule went beyond the agency’s powers.
By a five-to-four margin, meanwhile, the court upheld a mandate issued by the secretary of health and human services that requires people who work in health-care facilities that serve Medicare and Medicaid patients to be vaccinated. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court's three liberal justices to form the majority.
Oregon OSHA’s rules must be “at least as effective” as federal rules. In response to the Supreme Court's decision, OSHA announced Jan. 13 that it "will not move forward with adopting the same or similar standard in Oregon." The agency, instead, "will continue to monitor federal OSHA activities and respond as needed."
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OBI Reschedules Annual Meeting |
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After much consideration, OBI has postponed its annual meeting. Originally scheduled to take place Feb. 8, the meeting has been moved tentatively to June. It will still take place at the Salem Convention Center, and we will share details as soon as possible. We hope the delay will allow a greater number of members and guests to participate in person. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you in June!
In addition to a timely agenda that will cover key policy and political topics, OBI will honor this year’s jobs champion, Brad Hicks, the recently retired president and CEO of The Chamber of Medford and Jackson County, and include a reception where attendees can network with elected officials and fellow business leaders.
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OBI Webinar with Legislative Leaders |
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One element of the Feb. 8 annual meeting agenda that has not been postponed is our panel discussion with legislative caucus leaders, who will talk about what’s on the table for the 2022 session. To allow for remote participation, the discussion will occur as a webinar. Our anticipated lineup includes Sen. Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego; Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend; Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland; and Rep. Vikki Breese Iverson, R-Prineville. The webinar will take place from 4 – 5 p.m. Follow this link to register.
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Governor's Workforce Plan Receives Hearing |
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OBI’s manufacturing efforts include the improvement of Oregon’s challenging workforce issues. Employers in every sector tell us frequently about the difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified workers. While COVID has exacerbated some of these issues, workforce challenges are bigger and more systemic than previously believed. That is why are closely following the workforce development plan that was previewed this week in the House Interim Committee on Economic Recovery and Prosperity. The plan, submitted by the governor’s office, calls for over $200 million in new workforce training and access investments.
The governor’s proposal includes, among other things, $35 million for local workforce boards, $17 million for community college career pathways programs and $20 million for apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. See this memo for additional details. The plan will be funded largely with federal American Rescue Plan Act resources.
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Panel Previews Agricultural Overtime Bill |
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On Jan. 11, legislative business and labor committees were briefed on a likely short-session bill that would require overtime pay for agricultural workers. The proposal calls for a five-year phase-in starting in 2023, when hours exceeding 55 per week would generate overtime pay. Beginning in 2027, all weekly hours exceeding 40 would trigger overtime. In an effort to mitigate the impact on employers, the legislators have proposed tax credits as a percentage of overtime costs during the phase-in period. Most farmers have said that a tax credit simply won’t be helpful because farms rarely are profitable. OBI is part of a larger coalition of agricultural employers working on alternatives that address the reality that farms don’t set their own prices and therefore can’t absorb the increased costs this proposal would impose. You can review a memo containing details of the proposal here and a related story in the Salem Statesman Journal here.
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Universal Health Care Task Force Receives Tax-Hike Estimate |
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The Legislative Revenue Office has released a preliminary snapshot of the taxes that might be needed to pay for universal health care in Oregon. The analysis, presented during the Jan. 7 meeting of a Task Force on Universal Health Care work group, identifies about $21 billion in new revenue that would be generated in 2026 through a combination of payroll, income and sales taxes.
The model estimates that $9 billion would be generated through a payroll tax that would range from 5% to 9%, depending upon wages. An increase in personal income tax rates would raise an additional $5 billion. Finally, a 6% sales tax on goods and services would generate $7 billion. A low-income tax credit would make the sales tax less regressive.
In a Jan. 10 email to OBI, Legislative Revenue Officer Christopher Allanach emphasized “that these are a kind of ‘gross’ costs/revenue. I was asked to limit the discussion in this way at this time. By ‘gross’ I mean it ignores other spending under the state’s current approach to health insurance coverage. For example, if a business regularly pays 10% of it’s payroll to provide health insurance for its employees, it may be indifferent between paying those costs and paying a 10% payroll tax.”
The Legislature established the Task Force on Universal Health Care in 2019 with the passage of Senate Bill 770. Its charge includes the submission of a recommendation for a Health Care for All Oregon Plan no later than September 2022. No action on universal health care is expected to happen during the 2022 short session.
Although this is a very preliminary proposal that presents possible funding options for the plan the task force ultimately proposes, OBI is concerned with the direction in which the task force is moving. We expect the task force’s work to evolve prior to the September deadline and will continue to monitor and engage in the process.
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State Adopts Climate Protection Plan Despite Costs, Complexity |
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The Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) adopted the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Climate Protection Program in December, and implementation began Jan. 1 Although OBI had significant concerns about the program as proposed in August, the final rule adopted by the EQC included several major eleventh-hour changes that make the program more difficult to achieve and compliance more costly for businesses. These unexpected changes include, among others, an increase in the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal from 80% to 90% and a more than 30% increase in the cost of compliance instruments.
Although regulating natural gas and transportation fuel suppliers is the primary focus of the program, the impacts of the regulation will be felt throughout our economy as costs rise for fuel and everyday necessities like groceries. In addition to regulating natural gas and transportation fuel, approximately a dozen Oregon manufacturing and industrial facilities will be directly regulated under the program. No immediate economic impact is expected, since the program’s GHG cap will not begin to decline until 2023. However, regulated entities are initiating plans to determine how they will meet the new complex, stringent requirements and how they will bear the cost increases to their operations.
The climate rule is a product of Gov. Brown’s Executive Order 20-04, which requires more than a dozen state agencies to reduce GHG by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. OBI has been extremely engaged on both the executive order and the Climate Protection Program through participation on the rules advisory committee and robust public comments at every step in the process. See The Oregonian’s Dec. 16 article on the state’s new climate policy here.
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OHA Launches Website to Report Positive Home COVID Tests |
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The Oregon Health Authority on Jan. 12 announced the launch of a website and a hotline for people who test positive for COVID. The services allow people to report positive results from at-home tests and testing providers. The launch coincides with the OHA’s move away from contact tracing and interviews with infected people in order to focus on outbreaks in high-risk settings such as schools and food-chain industries, according to an OHA press release. People are not required to report COVID test results to the OHA. To learn more, visit the new website.
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