GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

The Oregon Legislature passed several employment related bills this session. Many of these will take effect at the beginning of 2022, but some were passed by emergency order, meaning they’ve already taken effect.

Employee benefit programs are rooted deeply into Cascade’s history of helping its members build better workplaces. We understand that each employee is different and that every employer wants to meet their healthcare needs, within budgetary reasonableness of course. Cascade’s benefits partner, CSNW Benefits, digs deeper for you!

Are you feeling overwhelmed with recruiting right now? You are not alone. Everywhere you turn, there are employers offering hiring bonuses and other incentives to try and attract candidates. Anyone who is serious about finding great people has started exploring different recruiting avenues from networking to job boards to hiring dedicated (and expensive) recruiters. 

The 2021 Regional Pay Survey reports are now available! This year, 553 organizations participated from across Oregon and Washington, representing data for 41,467 employees. From that data we were able to report on 527 positions overall. Of the 553 participants, 192 were nonprofits, which resulted in 195 positions being reportable in the Nonprofit Report.

With all the changes we’ve endured the past 15 months, let us not forget about the scheduled minimum wage increase effective July 1st. The chart below outlines the increase amounts each year by region and which counties are included in each region.

Members are the reason that Cascade Employers Association has existed for nearly 75 years. As a “thank you” for your ongoing support, we are dedicating June to YOU! We have set aside the entire month of June to show our appreciation to Cascade members with free webinars, prizes and more!

With restrictions easing and more employees returning to the workplace, we know you have questions about both the legal and practical issues around the impact of COVID-19 vaccines and the new mask requirements. We hope you can join us for this one-hour live conversation on May 26th to participate and ask questions as you make critical decisions for your organization. 

OSHA recently released guidance related to when employers are required to record adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Many of us have been invited into the supervisor’s role because we were competent in a specific area and others thought we should be “promoted.” Next thing we know we are dealing with human beings which can be rewarding or frustrating.

Behind every great organization is a well-trained staff. Hundreds of employers rely on Cascade’s proven soft skills and compliance training to achieve performance improvement and personal success for their managers, supervisors, and employees.

The EEOC recently announced that the data collection portal for Component 1 of the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Report will open on April 26th, 2021. The deadline for submitting 2019 and 2020 data will be Monday, July 19th, 2021.

Equal Pay Day was on March 24, 2021. Equal Pay Day marks the day into the year on which it takes women on average to earn what men did in the previous year. 

Inviting employees to provide feedback about their work experience can lead to process improvements, increased customer satisfaction, greater profitability, greater employee retention, and overall improved organizational performance.

Because sitting down in a room with a group of colleagues to address challenges and how to tackle them head-on really isn’t a thing right now, Cascade created HR Connect. This newly-added membership benefit focuses on trending HR topics and best practices around compliance, culture and connection.

With the COVID-19 vaccination process continuing to roll-out, employers are faced with novel employment issues. We can help you understand the legal framework surrounding vaccinations in the workplace and practical implications including employee morale and retention. If this is a conversation your organization is having or needs to have, we have a webinar for you.

For years we have been teaching supervisors, managers and team leaders to over-communicate to their teams. We would encourage leaders to articulate with effective repetition our vision, rallying cries, day-to-day policy and procedure updates, team priorities, staffing changes. 

In 2020, Oregon had 222 discrimination claims filed with the EEOC.  The largest number of complaints (56.3%) came in the area of retaliation.

Cascade Employers Association is focused on building better, more equitable, and inclusive workplaces through compliance, culture, and connection and the team is growing so we can continue to give you the exceptional support we are known for. 

Typically, our recommendation on best practice is to formally analyze market data at least every three years, using multiple market sources. There can be many reasons why you would want to look at data more frequently for reasons such as high turnover and an increase in market demand for certain jobs.

Many businesses have had positive results since moving to a remote work format. However, one of the concerns when working with a remote workforce is staying compliant with employment laws when one or more employees live in a different state than where the employer is located or a different state than where they previously worked for that employer. Or, possibly, the employer finds themself willing to hire new, remote employees who reside in another state already.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it will open the collection period for the EEO-1 Report in April 2021. The exact open date and deadlines are not yet available. The 2020 reporting period will require employers to submit their data for 2019 in addition to 2020.

Collecting wage and salary data for over 600 positions from about 700 organizations across Oregon and Washington, this survey provides reliable and comprehensive data that allows you to remain competitive in your local market.

Many organizations have employees who have taken on more work as a result of workforce reductions and now have hybrid roles where they previously did not. These may have started as temporary assignments but if these additional tasks continue, it may be important to ensure you are paying for these hybrid roles and the additional duties taken on.

With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, a common question is whether employers can require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine once it is widely available. On December 16th, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidelines regarding vaccinations in the workplace.

Do you have a favorite metaphor you have been using to describe 2020 as we begin to embrace 2021?

Since last March we have had hundreds of conversations with our nearly 500 members about adjusting to remote work and all the disruption we have experienced in 2020. While we look to build skills around compliance, leadership and resiliency, the conversation has consistently shifted to what are employers are doing to keep employees engaged, linked-in and connected.

Cost of Living and Cost of Labor mean different things and often times lead to confusion when talking about how they impact compensation and total rewards.

When executives were asked if the overall U.S. economy in the next 12 months will “improve, stay the same, or decline,” the majority (44 percent) think it will improve, as opposed to last year with only 12 percent planning that the economy would improve.

If you’ve already had the pleasure of meeting Daryl Dixon, you’ll understand our enthusiasm for bringing him on board as Cascade’s new Director of Equity and Inclusion. And if you haven’t yet had the opportunity, we want to help make that happen.