Oregon lawmakers began a short legislative session Feb. 3, with plans to adjourn by March 9. Coordinating for organized labor, the Oregon AFL-CIO is prioritizing several bills.
One would make it illegal for large employers to cut workers’ hours in order to avoid the obligation to provide health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Federal penalties of $2,000 a year per full-time employee were supposed to kick in Jan. 1 for companies with over 50 employees — if any of their employees purchased government-subsidized coverage through the new individual insurance exchanges because their employer wasn’t providing it. But President Barack Obama last fall announced he would delay enforcement of that provision for one year. Some companies are seeking to avoid the penalty by reducing hours below 30 in a week — the law’s threshold for defining full-time. Under Oregon Senate Bill 1543, sponsored by State Senator Michael Dembrow, companies could owe back pay and punitive damages if they reduce hours for the sole purpose of evading the law’s requirements. SB 1543 also contains a provision making health insurance available to community college and public university faculty whose part-time hours at several schools add up to full time.
The other priority bill, says Oregon AFL-CIO Legislative Director Elana Guiney, would make it clear that apprenticeship training programs are part of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber’s “40-40-20” education goal. Under legislation passed in 2011, the state set a goal that by 2025, all adult Oregonians would have at least a high school diploma: 40 percent would have a bachelors degree or higher, 40 percent would have an associates degree or some kind of post-secondary certificate, and 20 percent would have just a high school diploma or GED. HB 4058, which passed unanimously out of committee on the session’s first day, would add apprenticeship programs registered with State Apprenticeship and Training Council to that middle 40. They were overlooked previously.
Guiney said the state labor federation will also be pushing to revive plans for a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia River. The Oregon Legislature last year approved spending $450 million for the bridge on condition that the Washington Legislature match it and the project get federal funding. But the Washington Senate refused to vote on a transportation funding package. Since then, Kitzhaber has tried to renew funding on a go-it-alone basis, but Oregon legislators have balked. If it’s ever built, the bridge would be a massive employer of construction workers. But Kitzhaber has said he will declare the project dead if the Oregon Legislature doesn’t act during this session to resuscitate it. As of press time, no bridge building bill had been introduced.
Guiney said the Oregon AFL-CIO will also act to support bills backed by affiliates and other unions. Those could include bills that would:
- Curb initiative petition circulator abuses;
- Bring certain firefighters currently classed as supervisors into the category of workers eligible for union representation;
- Let private individuals hire home care workers for themselves or family from the state registry maintained by the Home Care Commission; and
- Require agencies employing individuals with disabilities to pay state minimum wage and otherwise comply with state labor and occupational health and safety laws.
Important Dates: Work session for bills must be set by Feb. 7. Only bills that make the deadline and are scheduled for a hearing by Feb. 13 will move forward this session.
