Latest news with #HouseBill4002
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
13 new sobering stations at MultCo defelction center provide ‘path to recovery'
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multnomah County's Southeast Portland deflection center is set to gain 13 new sobering stations on April 28. On Wednesday, county officials announced that 24-hour beds would come online as part of a phased plan to eventually open a separate Sobering & Crisis Stabilization Center at 1901 SE Grand Ave. While the permanent sobering center, with up to 50 withdrawal management stations is slated to open in the Fall of 2027, county leaders said the current expansion will help increase access to recovery services for people suffering from substance abuse disorder. Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, who led the sobering center plan, said the expansion would offer law enforcement more opportunities to refer people caught with illegal drugs to treatment instead of jail, including those experiencing acute intoxication. 'The community and first responders have been clear about the need for sobering as an alternative to emergency departments, jail, or leaving people on the streets,' said Brim-Edwards. 'By offering a safe and supportive environment, we can help individuals begin their journey to recovery, while improving community safety and reducing the burdens on our emergency medical and justice systems.' The announcement comes after the Coordinated Care Pathway Center switched to a 24-hour model on April 14. Previously, law enforcement could only refer qualifying drug offenders to the Coordinated Care Pathway Center for deflection on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and weekends from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. 'These 13 sobering beds expand our capacity to provide a safe, stable place to go for people needing care and respite on their path to recovery,' said Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. 'This new 24/7 resource fills a critical gap in crisis services that will benefit law enforcement partners, first responders, and our broader community. It's an important addition to our larger continuum of care.' The Portland Metro region has seen a gap in low-barrier drop-off locations since 2019, when the city closed its sobering center. Following construction delays, the Coordinated Care Pathway Center opened on October 14, 2024, shortly after the implementation of House Bill 4002. The law re-introduced criminal penalties for people possessing small amounts of hard drugs in Oregon and granted counties the ability to build deflection programs to help people with addiction. According to county data, between September 1, 2024, when Multnomah County kicked off its deflection program and February 28, 2025, law enforcement referred 267 people to participate in deflection. The county claims the center's service provider Tuerk House will prioritize referrals for sobering stations from law enforcement deflection before offering availability to outreach workers, first responders, and other service groups. 'We are committed to providing patient-centered, trauma-informed care,' said Bernard Gyebi-Foster, Chief Executive Officer of Tuerk House. 'Our services are designed to offer a pathway to treatment and support, addressing the complex needs of each individual. With the opening of 24/7 sobering services, we are now able to provide immediate treatment around the clock to those in need, and we have a longer time to make a more meaningful connection with them. While they are with us, our goal will be to get to know each person as best as we can and help them make informed decisions about the best next step in their recovery.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
County tracks progress on deflection program
Recent changes to Clatsop County's deflection program are helping open the door for more people to access treatment. The program, not quite 6 months old, is a response to House Bill 4002, which recriminalized possession of illicit drugs in Oregon last year after a three-year experiment with decriminalization. In coordination with the bill, the Legislature allocated more than $20 million for optional county deflection programs aimed at redirecting people out of the criminal justice system and into treatment. Clatsop County's deflection team includes representatives from the sheriff's office, the district attorney's office, the county and Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, the county's mental health and substance-use treatment provider. The group has met biweekly since April, and officially rolled out the program in September. In that time, they've provided training to about 60 law enforcement officers, Community Corrections Director Kristen Hanthorn told county commissioners Wednesday. They've also made changes to the program based on feedback from those officers. When the program began, it was designed specifically for Clatsop County residents with a stand-alone drug charge. Hanthorn said that model presented certain limitations. 'What law enforcement was finding is that they're having a lot of contact with people, but they weren't solely just the possession of drugs,' she said. 'They had all this other stuff going on, so that was preventing them from participating' in a deflection program. Officers also didn't have a way to refer people to the deflection program if they were struggling with drug addiction but not in possession of drugs. So, in February, the deflection team made a shift. Now, the program is also open to county residents on supervision or charged with additional low-level crimes, like disorderly conduct or minor theft. Those individuals still need to navigate the court system for their other charges, but can go through deflection to work toward getting their drug possession charges dropped. The team has also added a second pathway to deflection for people who haven't been found in possession of drugs but want help with recovery. Since making the change this month, Assistant County Manager Monica Steele said they've already seen participation double. So far, the team has engaged with 18 people, including 12 now in deflection and three that have graduated from the program. Hanthorn said the majority of referrals come from the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office. Many of the people in the program are in their 30s, and around half of the cases have been related to meth possession, although some have also involved drugs like fentanyl and cocaine. People in the program also come from a variety of housing and employment backgrounds. 'We've had graduates that have been homeless at the beginning. We've also had people come into our program and graduate that had a job, you know, that had housing,' Hanthorn said. 'And so we're hitting both gaps. It's not just homeless individuals.' When law enforcement makes contact with someone, officers have a few options for referring them to the deflection program. If a recovery ally with Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare is available, they'll meet the person on the scene for what Hanthorn calls a 'warm handoff.' Law enforcement officers can also drop the person off at a Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare rapid access clinic in Astoria or Seaside. If neither option is possible, the person will be directed to report to the clinic within 72 hours. The goal is to see progress toward individualized treatment goals and quality of life improvements surrounding housing, employment and harm reduction. The minimum requirement to have a charge dropped is 90 days of engagement and progress. Although the program has seen successes, Steele noted that it's not necessarily for everyone. Of the 18 total contacts, three people have declined to participate, opting instead to be cited for criminal possession. 'You need to have a number of tools, and this is just another tool,' she said. 'This isn't the solution for everybody, but it's an alternative for some that might choose to use it. And so we have to look at everybody as an individual, we have to look at all the options. And this might work for one person, but it's not going to work for another person, but perhaps it opens a door to something else that will work for them.' Looking ahead, law enforcement will continue to work through a learning curve. Some officers, Steele said, may have started their careers when possession of small amounts of drugs was still legal. Hanthorn said another potential hurdle is community buy-in. As the team continues outreach with law enforcement officers and members of the community, the hope is to show the positive change that's possible through deflection — even if it's slow-going, as recovery often is. 'We just want to help encourage them, show them the statistics that we are seeing success,' Steele said. 'It's not going to happen overnight.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Review of payrolls shows higher hourly pay but lower overall earnings under farmworker overtime law
Cherries are harvested in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. (Photo by Andrea Johnson/Oregon Department of Agriculture) Some Oregon farmworkers are earning higher hourly wages but taking home less money annually than they did before the state's agricultural overtime law passed in 2022, according to a new analysis of farm payroll data from Oregon State University agricultural economists. It's likely the result of farms reducing some employees' hours to avoid paying overtime, according to Tim Delbridge and Jeff Reimer, the Oregon State economists who conducted the analysis and published it Jan. 31 on their blog. Advocates for the agricultural overtime law said it has had material benefits for farmworkers, who report better working conditions and quality of life since the law passed. Reyna Lopez, executive director of the farmworkers union Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, or PCUN, said the analysis 'doesn't change much for us.' 'For us, it's still about the same thing,' she said. 'If they're going to be doing this important, hard, dangerous work in one of the largest sectors of our economy and feeding families across Oregon, they deserve equal pay like everyone else.' Opponents of the law, including many farm owners and industry associations, said it will continue to create burdensome costs for small farms and seasonal crop growers, who will decide to close or consolidate in the years ahead. They say the law, which is being phased in over a period of five years and has gone from a 55-hour threshold for overtime pay to 48 hours this year, will also continue to lead to reduced farmworker hours and earnings. In 2027, overtime will be earned and paid after 40 hours. 'The problem growers face is they're price takers. They don't get to set the price on their commodity. Walmart, Fred Meyer, the large grocers set the price on the commodity. Growers have no control over that,' said Mike Doke, executive director of the Hood River-based industry group Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers. 'When there are increased regulation costs on overtime, on labor housing, growers have no way to make up for that, and so there are growers going out of business.' The Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers were among the industry groups that helped fund Delbridge and Reimer's study, along with the Oregon Association of Nurseries, Oregon Dairy Farmers, Oregon Farm Bureau and the Oregon State University agricultural extension. The groups are considering asking the Legislature to create carve outs in the overtime rules, including capping overtime at 48 hours instead of 40 hours and creating a three-month window where it's capped at 55 hours, to accommodate the harvest season for seasonal fruit growers. Delbridge and Reimer collected anonymized payroll data from five dairies, three nurseries and two cherry farms in Oregon since 2022, when the state passed House Bill 4002 requiring farm workers be paid time-and-a-half for overtime work on a phased-in, five-year timeline. Oregon was the third state in the U.S., following California and Washington, to pass an agricultural overtime law. Workers in other industries have been guaranteed overtime pay for more than 80 years under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, but it excludes farmworkers. Washington and California are now fully phased into a 40-hour per week threshold for overtime pay. Delbridge and Reimer found that in Oregon, as in studies of California's farm workforce, overtime laws have been increasing hourly wages since 2022 but have led to slight decreases in overall average annual earnings and hours. In California, overall average weekly hours worked by farm employees dipped below the national average of about 41 hours per week, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. As an example, the economists analyzed data from five employees of an Oregon dairy farm who all averaged more than 55 hours a week in 2022. By 2023, their average weekly hours decreased by about six hours, and each saw their weekly wages go down by an average of $75. Lopez of PCUN said she hears less from farmworkers worried about hours being cut from overtime rules than from extreme weather events. 'What I've been hearing a lot from my members, and that's been on top of mind from them, is that what they have seen reducing their hours is really the impacts of extreme climate and environmental conditions,' she said. Not all farm managers that provided data for the analysis reduced the overtime hours assigned to employees. But some farmers who participated said they instead reduced year-end bonuses, or were feeling less pressure to raise base wages for employees who were working overtime. At 55 hours of overtime, labor costs for the dairies went up by an average of 3.6%. The economists estimate this year, as overtime moves to the 48-hour threshold, labor costs for dairies will rise nearly 7% and at 40 hours, labor costs will increase by about 12% from pre-overtime law years. Nurseries are slightly less impacted, with 4% labor cost increases by the 2027, 40-hour threshold. Cherry growers will see a 3.3% increase this year and a 6.3% increase in 2027, the economists project. 'It's clear that overtime regulation is financially worse for farmers, but it's ambiguous with respect to workers. Some workers will be worse off from the overtime, but I don't think it's true that all workers will be worse off,' Dembridge said. Delbridge said one unintended consequence of the overtime law could indeed be farm consolidation, though that's more likely to happen at the 40-hour threshold than the 55- or 48-hour threshold. 'The impact of 55 hours has been pretty modest, right? And we see that in the data,' he said. 'I think what you're hearing now is more of a fear about what's going to happen this year at 48 hours, and 'How the heck are we going to be able to do this at 40 hours?' Just because it is quite a bit of a change from the status quo.' He said it's easier for large farms to manage financial risks associated with agricultural overtime laws and new agricultural labor housing rules that will go into effect in 2027. Large farm operations can avoid overtime pay by hiring more workers. They might already have big housing facilities for those additional workers, or have the capital to invest in it, and a human resources manager or department that can handle hiring paperwork and training. Those are significant expenses for a small farm. Doke called the 2027 agricultural overtime threshold of 40 hours mixed with the updated housing laws a 'perfect storm' of untenable expenses for small farms. Oregon's future, he believes, looks like Washington today. 'You won't find many small apple farmers like you did 20 years ago in Washington. It's mainly larger corporations, and we really want to avoid that here in Oregon,' he said. 'In Hood River and Wasco County, we have 440 growers in our membership through those two counties. If they were there to consolidate into less than 100 that would have huge impacts on the industry and the communities here, and that's what we're going to end up seeing is consolidation because smaller growers just can't afford these huge expenses.' For Lopez of PCUN, overtime pay is a matter of sustaining a workforce that farmers say they need and struggle to find. It's only going to get harder with President Donald Trump's restrictive immigration orders and threats of mass deportation, she said. 'Again and again, they've been saying that the labor shortages are a challenge for them, and now we're in a time where that's only going to keep increasing,' she said. 'I really hope that they can see the bigger picture around why it's important to improve conditions for our workers.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A guide to Michigan's new paid sick leave law
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law new paid sick leave requirements for Michigan employers Friday modifying court-ordered changes that would have expanded sick leave to almost every worker in the state. This legislative debate over Michigan's sick leave law goes back to 2018, when lawmakers took up voter-initiated sick leave legislation. The GOP-controlled Legislature adopted the voter initiative — circumventing a statewide vote on the measure — and later watered it down after the election. The Michigan Supreme Court in July ruled this "adopt and amend" maneuver illegal and ordered the original proposal to take effect starting Friday. But hours after the court-ordered changes were scheduled to take effect, Whitmer signed House Bill 4002 Friday which once again changed the original sick leave initiative. The bill passed 81-29 in the Michigan House of Representatives and 26-10 in the Michigan Senate. Every Republican state lawmaker voted for the legislation while Democrats were divided with most voting against it. Whitmer and the lawmakers who supported the sick leave legislation heralded it as a bipartisan compromise to protect workers and businesses. "House Republicans have been advocating for the people of Michigan, and compared to what was coming, this legislation helps Michigan workers keep good jobs, income, and benefits, and it improves conditions for small businesses," said bill sponsor state Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay, in a statement Friday. But Mothering Justice — which advocated for the sick leave policy and brought the lawsuit that led to the Michigan Supreme Court order to implement it — voiced frustration with lawmakers' intervention. "While our movement of mobilized women, particularly mothers of color, built unprecedented momentum and showed the power of grassroots organizing, the version of (Earned Sick Time Act) that was passed today is a massive loss for workers across Michigan," said Mothering Justice Executive Director Danielle Atkinson in a statement Friday. Here's a look at the new sick leave requirements in Michigan: Michigan law previously required large employers with 50 or more employees to give their workers up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year. The new law now provides sick leave to those working at small businesses too. It does not cover federal workers, independent contractors, unpaid trainees and interns and workers under 18. Small businesses — defined as those with 10 or fewer workers — must provide 40 hours of paid sick leave each year. While larger businesses must provide 72 hours of paid sick leave. Workers accrue sick leave at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. In lieu of accrual, employers could front-load sick leave hours at the beginning of the year to be used immediately. Employers that use the accrual method must let their workers carry over unused sick time each year while employers that front-load sick time don't have to do so. The law sets the minimum amount of paid sick leave employers must provide their workers. Employers could choose to provide more time. The pay rate for sick time is the worker's normal hourly wage or the regular minimum wage for workers who receive customer tips and are paid the lower tipped minimum wage. Sick leave pay does not include overtime pay, holiday pay, bonuses, commissions, supplemental pay, piece-rate pay, tips or gratuities. The new deadline for small businesses to start providing 40 hours of paid sick leave to their workers is Oct. 1. Under the court's order, the sick leave requirements for small businesses would have both taken effect Friday when they did for large businesses. The law provides a runway for new small businesses to start complying with the sick leave requirements. Under the new law, if a small business did not employ anyone on or before Feb. 21, 2022 it has three years after employing its first worker to comply with the sick leave requirements. Under the new law, workers can use sick leave when needed for their own or a family member's health issues, preventative care and treatment and legal action following domestic violence or sexual assault. Workers could also use sick leave during public health emergencies that close their workplace or a child's school or child care facility. The new law extends the waiting period an employer can put in place before a new employee can start using paid sick leave by one month. The initiative originally proposed letting employers set a 90-day waiting period for new workers to use earned sick time. The new law expands that to 120 days. Workers who leave a job and are rehired by the same employer within two months will receive the sick time they previously accrued. Workers whose collective bargaining agreements conflict with the new sick leave law won't be impacted by the new law until their agreement expires unless the agreement has no sick leave benefits, according to a summary of the law from the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. Michigan lawmakers reach deal: Gov. Whitmer signs Michigan tipped minimum wage, paid sick leave bills into law The new sick leave law removed a provision in the original proposal that would have allowed workers to bring a civil lawsuit against an employer alleging a violation. State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, who voted against House Bill 4002, voiced concern about the move by lawmakers to strike that language in a Facebook post Friday. "The law that was originally slated to go into effect today included a private right of action. Essentially what that means is that if a worker is being mistreated by their employer with regard to earned paid sick time, that worker could take their employer to court," she wrote. "In House Bill 4002, the private right of action was REMOVED from the law. That means that workers now will lack this tool and the legislature chose to take away this important accountability mechanism." Under the new sick leave law, alleged violations of the sick leave act can be filed with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's Wage and Hour Division for investigation which could lead to sick pay, back pay and job reinstatement in the case of a layoff if a violation occurred. Employers that retaliate against workers face a $1,000 fine for each violation. Employers that don't provide sick leave to a worker face a civil fine of not more than eight times the worker's hourly wage. Employers that willfully violate notice and posting requirements about the new law could face a $100 fine for each violation. Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@ or 313-296-5743. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan has a new sick leave law. How it works
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor Whitmer signs minimum wage and paid sick leave bills
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed the two bills sent to her desk late Thursday night that changes the state's minimum wage law and paid sick time rules for workers. 'Michigan workers deserve fair wages and benefits so they can pay the bills and take care of their family, and small businesses needs our support to keep creating good jobs in Michigan,' said Governor Whitmer in an email statement. 'I'm proud to sign these two bipartisan bills into law that will raise wages, ensure workers can take time off to care for themselves or their loved ones, and continue growing our economy. This commonsense compromise was made possible by the Republicans and Democrats who worked together to forge a fair, bipartisan deal. I hope we can build on this momentum to keep passing commonsense, bipartisan legislation that makes a real difference in people's lives. I'll keep working with anyone to protect working families and make sure our economy is competitive.' Lawmakers from both parties said they aimed to pass the deal before midnight, and the final vote came in just after 10:40 p.m. Under the sick time deal in House Bill 4002, workers will get one hour of sick time for every 30 hours on the job. Employees at large businesses get 72 hours of sick time and those at small businesses — defined as having 10 employees or less — will get 40 hours. Small businesses also won't be required to start providing 40 hours of sick time until Oct. 1, 2025. Senate Bill 8, legislation preserving the tipped wage for restaurant workers and bartenders, also passed. It raises the standard minimum wage to $15 by 2027. The tipped minimum wage would be 38% of the standard, which will then rise by 2% each year through 2031, when it reaches 50% of the standard. The changes that would have gone into effect if not for Thursday night's vote were teed up by a Michigan Supreme Court ruling last year that the Republican-led Legislature in 2018 acted unconstitutionally by adopting the rules and then changing them to sidestep a ballot initiative. Meanwhile, the nonprofit One Fair Wage hoped to bring the issue to voters. In a Thursday release, the organization said it was gearing up to mobilize volunteers to gather signatures for a statewide referendum in response to Senate Bill 8 — the wage deal. One Fair Wage is the group that was behind the ballot initiative in 2018. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
