Bureau of Labor and Industries asks Legislature for sustained funding to tackle growing wage and civil‑rights backlogs

Co Chair Gomberg opened a Feb. informational hearing of the Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee on House Bill 5015, the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) budget bill.

Christina Stevenson, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries, told the committee BOLI is managing large, sustained increases in workload and asked for a multi‑part investment to bring the agency’s enforcement capacity up to the level of new laws and demand. "Each of those [backlog] numbers represents an Oregonian who did not get paid what they're owed," Stevenson said.

The request outlined by Stevenson and agency staff included a phased hiring plan for new investigators and intake staff, an upgrade to the bureau’s case‑management system and reclassifications to raise investigator pay. The bureau’s package asks for roughly $19.9 million in other funds for the 2025–27 biennium, a phased plan to hire about 70 staff over 18 months, and a $2.1 million request for phase two of a case‑management replacement, Stevenson said.

Tamara Brickman, the chief financial office analyst assigned to BOLI, described revenue and funding sources in the governor’s recommended budget and noted both one‑time and ongoing sources. Brickman said the governor’s recommendation is about $17.8 million above current service level when pass‑through grant dollars are excluded, and…