O. P. Hoff

Ole P. Hoff (May 17, 1853 – March 18, 1924) was a Norwegian-American Republican politician and the first commissioner of labor in the U.S. state of Oregon. Hoff was the sole employee of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Inspector of Factories and Workshops (now the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries) when he was appointed commissioner after the bureau's creation by the state legislature on June 2, 1903. He served as Labor Commissioner until 1919, when he became the Oregon State Treasurer. He died in office on March 18, 1924. was born in Hadeland, Norway on May 17, 1853. After leaving Norway in 1870, he first settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, then in California before briefly coming to Oregon in 1875.

Labor commissioner Hoff was the first leader of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to conduct safety inspections of factories. In 1906, he reported that 653 of the 673 factories inspected had dangerous or unsafe conditions, but he won the authority to fine violators and force compliance with safety laws. He continued in office until January 6, 1919, and was replaced by Charles H. Gram who had been elected in 1918. He died in office on March 18, 1924, at the age of 70 at Emanuel Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Oregon Governor Pierce named Jefferson Myers as his successor the same day of Hoff's death.