Oregon Governor Tina Kotek saw a crisis, and she responded. In the two-year budget she proposed on Dec. 2, Kotek is calling for a 30% budget increase for Oregon’s tiny labor law enforcement bureau.
The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has suffered from decades of severe underfunding. In September, Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson created shock waves when she announced that BOLI would start dismissing wage claims because it lacks adequate staff. It was an extreme response to an extreme lack of resources, but it got the attention of state budget writers.
BOLI is responsible for enforcing minimum wage, overtime, and civil rights laws, prosecuting wage theft, and overseeing apprenticeship programs. But the agency budget supports fewer staff today than it did 30 years ago when Oregon’s workforce was far smaller. Kotek’s proposal, if approved by lawmakers next year, would increase its staff levels from 154 full-time equivalent to 230.
