Federal Issues
 Oregon Lodging Association in cooperation with American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has a comprehensive federal governmental affairs program covering legislative and regulatory issues at the nation's capitol. Check AH&LA's website for more details on the top legislative priorities and issues their team is focused on this year.
Department of Labor
AH&LA has learned that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is planning an initiative that specifically targets every hotel, motel and resort in the U.S. for audits by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. AH&LA is attempting to further inform the department about the true nature of our industry and its practices. We need you to contact your Oregon members of Congress today and let them know that these actions by the DOL are not justified and ask that they contact the department on your behalf to insist that they be stopped. A sample letter is available for you to send to your legislators.
Online Travel Companies
If passed, the "Internet Travel Tax Fairness Act" (ITTFA) proposed by online travel companies (OTCs) would preempt state and local governments’ authority to collect hotel occupancy taxes on rooms that are booked through OTCs. AH&LA was able to stop the Senate from adding ITTFA as an amendment, and sent a letter to the House and Senate expressing the industry's opposition. Since then, increased awareness on this issue has prompted a reduction in support for the occupancy tax legislation.
Card Check
A new version of EFCA was introduced that did not contain the existing version of card check but instead a requirement for shorter unionization campaigns and "quickie" elections. Contact your Senators today and let them know that these changes to EFCA still do not make this legislation acceptable. Follow EFCA updates on AH&LA's website. For an interesting read, "Filibusters and Cloture". AH&LA has produced 2 lodging industry-specific videos about card check you can use to educate your employees and managerial staff. Click here to access the video. Because of the significance of this legislation, OLA held a labor law seminar on the EFCA and how to prepare for union organizing on May 5th (click here to download the presentation).
View Federal Issues Archive
For more information on these and other federal legislative or regulatory issues, visit the AH&LA website.
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