The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is an agency in the executive branch of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It is headed by the Commissioner of Labor and Industries, a

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

, statewide elective office. The term of office is four years. The current Commissioner is

Val Hoyle Valerie Anne Hoyle (born February 14, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Until 2023, she served as the commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) (commonly called the "Labor C ...

History

In 1903, the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the ...

created the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Inspector of Factories and Workshops in response to public concerns about the effects industrialization on society. Its head, titled Commissioner, was initially appointed by the Governor. O. P. Hoff, the initial appointee, was elected in 1906, and reelected in 1910 and 1914. Dan Gardner of

Milwaukie Milwaukie is a city mostly in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1847 on the banks of the Willamette River, the c ...

was Commissioner from 2003–2008. He resigned in March 2008 to take a job with the

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 775,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, a ...

in Washington, D.C. He is the first Commissioner of BOLI to leave mid-term for another job. His replacement was

Brad Avakian Brad Peter Avakian (born February 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as a Democrat in the Oregon House, the Oregon Senate, and as the state's nonpartisan elected Labor Commissioner. He was appointed Labor Commissioner by Governor Ted ...

, who was re-elected to the position in 2008.

was elected as the new BOLI Commissioner in 2018, after Avakian decided that he would not seek re-election.

Commissioner duties and responsibilities

The Commissioner serves as chief executive of the department-level Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, chairs the State Apprenticeship and Training Council, and acts as executive secretary of the Wage and Hour Commission. The Commissioner has enforcement responsibility for state laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation, and vocational, professional and trade schools, and may initiate a “commissioner’s complaint” on behalf of victims. The Commissioner administers state laws regulating wages, hours of employment, basic working conditions, child labor and wage rates; and is responsible for licensure of certain professions and industries. Final orders in contested cases are issued by the commissioner. The Wage Security Fund that covers workers for unpaid wages in certain business closure situations, and enforcement of group-health insurance termination-notification provisions fall within the Commissioner's purview. The Commissioner is also responsible for oversight of the state’s registered apprenticeship-training system.

References

External links

Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
* {{authority control Labor and Industries State departments of labor of the United States 1918 establishments in Oregon

History

Commissioner duties and responsibilities

See also

References

External links