GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

Meal breaks might seem like a simple part of the workday, but in Oregon, the law has very specific requirements about how they must be provided and when they must be paid. Understanding these rules can help employers stay compliant and avoid unnecessary penalties.

Who is accountable and responsible for ensuring workers can afford the products or services they make/offer? The employer of the workers? The government? Is anyone responsible at all?

It's almost 2025! Well, sort of. At least, some of us may be planning for the new year to turn its page in just three short months. Before we make it to 2025, how will you share with your employees how much they earned by working for your organization this year?

The 2022/23 Salary Budget Survey is here, and it is time to participate in Cascade’s annual salary increase survey!

This survey gauges pay adjustments – actual for the past year and projected for the upcoming year – for Oregon and Washington organizations. As employers focus more on employee retention and recruitment, now is the time to find out how other organizations are handling salary increases.

The journey of pay transparency is a buzzing topic online these days with articles, including news briefs, thought pieces, opinion articles, and more. Pay transparency as a mandate has rapidly expanded into new local and state legislation, organizational best practices, and more in the last five years or so.

On July 1, 2022 Oregon’s Minimum Wage rates will increase. Along with this increase, it’s also time to make sure your required employment posters reflect this change. If you have already purchased an employment law poster from Cascade, you should have already received stickers with the new minimum wage rates to replace the current rates.

Many employers, due to various factors in recent times, have started considering starting wage levels at a living wage rather than minimum wage. A living wage is the amount an individual or family would need to make to avoid living in poverty. 

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.