At a meeting of the Compensation Committee (the "Committee") of the Board of Directors of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (the "Company"), held on January 16, 2009, the Committee approved grants of stock options under the 2003 Stock Incentive Plan (the "Plan") to the Company's executive officers other than the Chief Executive Officer as follows:

      Name                          Title                      No. of Shares
                                                             Covered by Option
Michael L. Elich  Vice President and Chief Operating Officer      20,000

In addition, the Committee approved grants of stock options for 2,000 shares of the Company's common stock to each of William W. Sherertz, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and the Company's five non-employee directors.

The option exercise price for the options is $11.08 per share, the average of the high and low trading prices on The Nasdaq Stock Market on January 16, 2009. The options will vest in four equal annual installments beginning on the first anniversary of the date of grant and will expire on January 16, 2019. The options will become exercisable in full upon the earliest to occur of death, disability, or retirement as an employee or director or a change in control of the Company.

The above information should be read in conjunction with the information set forth under the caption "Executive Compensation" and "Director Compensation for 2007" in the Company's Proxy Statement relating to its 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is available at the Company's website at www.barrettbusiness.com and the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov.