Taxpayers Association of Oregon: The Bull Pen
By October 1st, 2022, a new Oregon law will go into effect that bans hiring bonuses in the name of equality (HB 2818). The current practice of Tri-Met transit offering $7,500 and McMennamins restaurants offering $1,000 hiring bonuses will soon be illegal.
If minorities are suffering from lack of employment and businesses suffering from historic labor shortage, how does offering them hiring bonuses hurt them? — It now makes it worse.
The new law says if you offer a hiring bonus you have to offer ti to every single current employee, making it impossible.
While Oregon outlaws hiring bonuses, other states are raising their offers.
- Montana is offering $12,500 to hire nurses … as Oregon suffers from one of the nation’s worst nurse shortages.
- New Mexico is offering $25,000 to hire teachers … as Oregon suffers from a job recovery worse than the national average.
- Idaho has hired 155% above its pandemic loss, while Oregon remains under.
Oregon could be a job boom state, but instead we are a job-bust state as new taxes, and new government bans work to keep Oregonians and minorities job seekers down at a time when they need to be lifted up.