- Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
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Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries 
Great Seal of the State of OregonCommissioner Branch: Executive Type: Nonpartisan Selection: Statewide election Term: 4 years Authority: Statute Established: 1918 Incumbent Name: Brad Avakian Term ends: 2009 The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is an agency in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is headed by the Commissioner of Labor and Industries, a nonpartisan, statewide elective office. The term of office is four years.[1] The current Commissioner is Brad Avakian.
Contents
History
In 1903, the Oregon Legislative Assembly 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.[2]
Dan Gardner of Milwaukie was Commissioner from 2003–2008.[3] He resigned in March 2008 to take a job with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Washington, D.C..[3] He is the first Commissioner of BOLI to leave mid-term for another job.[4]
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.[1]
He or she 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.[1]
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.[1]
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. He or she is also responsible for oversight of the state’s registered apprenticeship-training system.[1]
List of Commissioners
The following table displays a list of the eight individuals who have served as Commissioner since the office's inception, with their respective terms of office. Party affiliation is included for those individuals whose service began before the legislature made the position a nonpartisan office in 1995 (with the first nonpartisan election in 1998).[2][5]
# Name Party Term 1 O. P. Hoff Republican June 2, 1903 - January 6, 1919 2 Charles H. Gram Republican January 6, 1919 - January 4, 1943 3 W. E. Kimsey Republican January 4, 1943 - January 3, 1955 4 Norman O. Nilsen Democratic January 3, 1955 - January 6, 1975 5 Bill Stevenson Democratic January 6, 1975 - January 1, 1979 6 Mary Wendy Roberts Democrat January 1, 1979 - January 2, 1995 7 Jack Roberts Republican/Nonpartisan January 2, 1995 - January 6, 2003 8 Dan Gardner Nonpartisan January 6, 2003 - April 7, 2008[6] 9 Brad Avakian Nonpartisan April 8, 2008 - Current References
- ^ a b c d e "Commissioner of Labor and Industries Dan Gardner". Oregon Bluebook (Online). Oregon Secretary of State. 2006. http://bluebook.state.or.us/state/executive/Bureau_Labor%26Industries/labor_comm_bio.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
- ^ a b "Bureau of Labor and Industries - Agency History". Oregon Bluebook (Online). Oregon Secretary of State. 2006. http://bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections31.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
- ^ a b Wong, Peter (April 5, 2008). "State labor chief will take oath of office". The Statesman Journal.
- ^ "Avakian in for Gardner". The Register-Guard. March 23, 2008.
- ^ Blue Book list
- ^ On March 12, 2008, Dan Gardner announced his resignation, effective April 7, 2008. "BOLI Commissioner Gardner Resigns". Willamette Week. March 12, 2008. [1]'
External links
Categories:- Government of Oregon
- Oregon Commissioners of Labor and Industries
- State departments of labor of the United States
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