Senate committee hears plan to fund BOLI from Worker Benefit Fund

An informational hearing on Senate Bill 946 opened March 6 before the Senate Committee on Labor and Business to consider authorizing payments from the Worker Benefit Fund to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI).

The bill, carried to the committee by Senator Mark Meek, would create a mechanism by which BOLI could receive a stable, ongoing “other fund” allocation from the Worker Benefit Fund to support enforcement, investigations and employer outreach. Senator Mark Meek said the goal is a "sustainable, fair, and desperately needed other fund resource for BOLI."

Why it matters: Committee members were told BOLI’s workload has grown much faster than its budget — dozens of employment laws have been added in recent years, often without accompanying enforcement funding — and agency leaders said that has created an ongoing backlog of investigations and employer assistance needs.

BOLI deputy labor commissioner Justin Atino told the committee the bureau enforces Oregon’s wage-and-hour and civil-rights laws and oversees registered apprenticeship programs. "We are overly reliant on general funds, making us susceptible to the ebbs and flows of economic challenges," Atino said, arguing that an alternate, predictable revenue stream would let BOLI hire permanent staff and provide timelier services.

Andrew Stolfi, director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), described the Worker Benefit Fund (WBF) and how it is assessed and spent. DCBS staff said the WBF primarily pays two categories of expenses: retroactive adjustments to permanent disability awards (the "retro" program) and re-employment assistance programs; together those account for roughly 90% of current spending. The assessment that funds the WBF is a cents‑per‑hour payroll assessment set annually by DCBS; it is currently assessed at about 2 cents per hour and is split 50/50 between employers and employees.

DCBS staff noted BOLI already receives a small WBF allocation — roughly $550,000 annually — limited to work done for DCBS involving retaliation claims connected to workers’ compensation. The proposal in SB 946 would expand the kinds of WBF payments BOLI could receive; DCBS said it is working with BOLI and other stakeholders to preserve the fund’s statutory purposes while creating a stable revenue source for BOLI.

Labor and business reaction: Katie Tyson of the Oregon AFL‑CIO testified in favor of the concept, saying BOLI’s backlogs harm workers and that a shared payroll assessment is a reasonable approach. "We simply do not have the budget to do the work we are tasked with," Tyson said. Paloma Sparks of Oregon Business & Industry (OBI) said employers value BOLI’s compliance assistance but expressed concern about diverting money away from the fund’s core purpose of supporting injured workers. Sparks said OBI will continue negotiating language to limit impacts on the workers’ benefit programs.

Committee members asked for details about how the WBF is governed: DCBS staff reminded the committee that the WBF was created in 1995, that the assessment authority was moved to DCBS to reduce political volatility, and that the fund is subject to oversight by the Major Medical and Labor Advisory Committee (MLAC). Stolfi said DCBS seeks to manage the assessment to minimize volatility and to preserve a multi‑quarter buffer in the fund balance.

Next steps: Members described the proposal as significant and said stakeholders — including DCBS, BOLI, labor, and business — are continuing to negotiate language. The committee closed the informational hearing and left the matter available for further work and potential amendment if the bill is moved forward.

Ending: No formal vote was taken in the informational hearing; committee staff and the bill sponsors said they would return with more detailed drafting that preserves the Worker Benefit Fund’s existing statutory limits while exploring a sustainable revenue pathway for BOLI.