OAALJ BOARD MEETING MINUTES
May 8, 2000

President Charlotte Rutherford called the meeting to order shortly after 6:00 p.m. on May 8, 2000, at the Phoenix Inn in Wilsonville, Oregon. Board members Bruce Black, Erika Hadlock, Abigail Herman, Steve Rissberger, and Lynne Wehrlie attended. Board member Daina Upite was absent. The board addressed the following issues during the meeting:

1. The board approved the minutes from the December 1999 and April 3, 2000, board meetings with no changes.

2. There was no treasurer's report because of Daina's absence.

3. Communications/Newsletter Committee report

Tom Ewing, chief of the central hearing officer panel, reported to both Charlotte and Lynne that there were some concerns about the last newsletter. It appears that some newsletter readers may have been upset either by Cheryl Ho's article about mandatory telecommuting or by Charlotte's mention of difficulties associated with holding hearings under the new administrative rules. Tom told Charlotte that he wants to meet with the board to discuss the newsletter, but did not provide more detail about his concerns or how he would want the board to address them.

The board discussed whether it should censor or edit newsletter articles for content, and decided that it should not. Erika and Bruce both review the newsletter before it is printed, and will make sure that Charlotte also has that opportunity. The board members agreed that such review was sufficient. There was a general discussion regarding the need for the board to work effectively with Tom Ewing while still maintaining its separate identity and authority.

Bruce noted that the last issue of the newsletter did not include a masthead. Another board member suggested that a masthead could include a disclaimer stating that newsletter articles express the opinions of their authors, which are not necessarily shared by OAALJ members or the OAALJ board. Bruce will work up a masthead for review at the next board meeting.

The next issue of the newsletter will be published in about September 2000. Erika will call Lane Shetterly to encourage him to submit an article for that issue.

4. Education Committee

Lynne and Steve met with David Marcus, who was concerned that OAALJ may not have done everything it should to maintain its partnership with Willamette University. David is going to be a member of the education committee, and will assist the other members in renewing ties with Willamette and assuring the new dean that OAALJ still is enthusiastic about sponsoring a one-day conference at Willamette this fall or winter, probably in early December. To that end, David has sent a letter inviting the dean, Shirley Gunther, and Richard Burke (the person in charge of Willamette's dispute resolution center) to dinner at a Salem restaurant to discuss plans for the conference. The board authorized the education committee to spend a reasonable amount of money to purchase dinners for David and the three guests from Willamette. The other members of the education committee also will attend the dinner, but will purchase their own meals.

Steve stated that the education committee favors the idea of holding the conference at Willamette University for several reasons, one being that there is no initial expense - the OAALJ will allocation a portion of the conference proceeds to Willamette but will not have to invest any money up front. To bring in speakers from the National Judicial College would, in contrast, cost at least $10,000.00. Board members discussed the amount of money ALJs might be willing to pay to attend a one-day conference and agreed that the fee probably should be less than $100.00 per person.

The education committee also will speak with Tom Ewing to determine how he is willing to contribute to the conference. At a minimum, the committee hopes that Tom will authorize all central panel hearing officers to attend the conference on work time. Tom might also be able to help line up speakers for the conference.

5. Other business

Daina mentioned at the last meeting that she will research policies of the state, various agencies, and the unions regarding mandatory telecommuting. Steve suggested that an editorial on that topic might be appropriate for the next newsletter. Bruce suggested that the difficulties with forced telecommuting point out the need for the central panel to have its own budget. Charlotte noted that the OAALJ's continued discussion of this issue is helpful to legislators and the oversight committee, as the newsletter may be one of their few sources for information regarding how the central panel actually is working.

Lynne mentioned that Tom Ewing apparently has abandoned the idea of having all central panel ALJs cross-trained to handle many different types of cases. Instead, the ALJs will be divided into three groups, each of which will be assigned specific types of cases. There is some feeling that the division of cases among the three groups may not be equitable.

The next board meeting was tentatively scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on June 13, 2000, at the Phoenix Inn in Wilsonville.

There being no further business, the board meeting adjourned shortly before 8:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Erika Hadlock,
Secretary